We are the Walking Dead
by Hilaryh25
Summary: After Kate Grimes finds out her brother is alive she follows him in a world turned to hell and falls for someone who she never expected would love her back.
1. Chapter 1

_**Then...**_

 _"Lori! Kate! Get Carl, pack anything you need we gotta go!" We heard Shane yell bursting through the front door of the house._

 _"Why? What's going on?" I asked him as he walked into the dining room then grabbed my hand dragging me upstairs to the room I was staying in at my brother and sis-in-law's house while mine was being renovated, "No time to explain just get anything you think you will need." He told me then left the room. She was my brother's partner on the force and my, well ex, we broke up about a week ago, at least I broke up with him, he thinks we're taking a short pause, "Kate come on we have to go!" I hear him yell from downstairs. I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs._

 _"Shane, what about Rick?" I asked him and he looked at me, "What is it?"_

 _"I'm sorry Kate, he's-he's dead" He told me and Lori grabbed on to me as I feel my knees go weak, "Come on, we have to go" He says to us and I nodded at Lori then she let go of my and grabbed Carl's hand and we loaded our stuff up in Shane's vehicle then left._

* * *

 _ **Now...**_

That was 3 weeks ago, we ended up finding other survivors along the way then settled at a quarry outside of the city. It had been weeks and I still missed my brother, and like the idiot I am I turned to Shane for comfort so now he thinks I want to start things up again. I tried to tell him no but he kept on insisting saying we were good for each other especially now considering I was in the Army before I was discharged and he was a cop. Truth be told the other reason I didn't want to start again with Shane was because someone else at the camp caught my eye.

I was sitting with Lori picking through some mushrooms when Amy walked over with more, "Any luck?" Lori asked her as she walked over to us

"How do we tell if they're poison?"

"Uh, there's only one sure way I know of." I told her her looking through the bucket

"Ask Shane when he gets back?" She asked me and I stood up after dumping the mushrooms into a pan Lori was holding

"Yeah, you've got it. Thank you." I start to walk away then look up at Dale who was on top of his RV keeping watch, "Dale, I'm heading out."

"Don't wander too far. Stay within shouting distance. And if you see anything, holler. I'll come running."

"Yes, mom." I said softly walking away into the woods when I hear leaves rustling. A bird flaps its wings and I look up at it then hear a branch snap. Suddenly, a hand reaches around my mouth and I'm dragged back.

"Shh shh shh shh shh shh shh." I hear Shane whisper in my ear and I break away from his arms and face him

"You scared the hell out of me." I tell him and he laughed

"I bet. That's what you get for keeping me waiting. I was trying to be quiet. Where you been?"

"Amy the mushroom queen… I had to wait for her to get back." I tell him and he moved to kiss me, "Shane stop" I told him pushing him back

"Oh come on Kate when are you gonna stop trying to deny this?" He asked moving forward again

"I'm not denying anything, we aren't getting back together I've told you this"

"Then why did we spend that night together after we got settled here? Hmm?" He asked and I sighed.

"I was grieving, you know that. Shane we just don't work together, we fight, we butt heads, we just-we can't." I told him and he chuckled

"Okay, yeah that's true but after we fight it's pretty good huh?" He asked putting his hand on my arm moving closer but I pulled away.

"Just...don't" I tell him and moved past him walking away

* * *

"Boy, that hose isn't long for this world, is it" Dale asked Jim as he stood there fixing the RV with Jim watching

"No sir"

"Where the hell are we gonna find a replacement?" Dale asked

"Could always take one out of one of the vehicles here" I tell him and they looked at me

"We would have to find a certain one that would fit, can't just take out of any random vehicle. Plus we looked at all the ones here." Dale told me and I smiled

"Yeah that was stupid" I said and he chuckled

"Not stupid, a good thought, but not stupid" Jim tells me and I smiled at him

"You flirtin' with me Jim?" I asked him and he smiled then looked away

"It's late. They should've been back by now." Amy says as she paced back and forth at our camp while I sat there watching her

Just then the radio squawks, _"Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me? Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me?"_ We hear over the radio and Dale climbed up onto the roof of the RV

"Hello? Hello? Reception's bad on this end. Repeat. Repeat."

 _"Shane, is that you?"_ T-Dog asked

"Is that them?" Lori asked

"We're in some deep shit. We're trapped in the department store."

"He said they're trapped?" Shane asks

 _"There are geeks all over the place. Hundreds of 'em. We're surrounded."_

"Shit" I mumbled

"T-Dog, repeat that last. Repeat." Dale says into the radio but it stops

"He said the department store." Lori pointed out

"I heard it too." Dale says

"Shane?" She asked him

"No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that."

"So we're just gonna leave her there?" Amy asked looking at him

"Look, Amy, I know that this is not easy…"

"She volunteered to go to help the rest of us." Amy pointed out to him

"I know, and she knew the risks, right? See, if she's trapped, she's gone. So we just have to deal with that. There's nothing we can do."

"She's my sister, you son of a bitch." She tells him and ran away from him

* * *

"Baby, the more you fidget, the longer it takes. So don't, okay?" Lori asked Carl while she gave him a hair cut

"I'm trying."

"Well, try harder." She told him

"If you think this is bad, wait till you start shaving. That stings. That day comes, you'll be wishing for one of your mama's haircuts." Shane says to him and I shook my head

"I'll believe that when I see it."

Shane chuckles, "I'll tell you what…you just get through this with some manly dignity and tomorrow I'll teach you something special. I will teach you to catch frogs."

"I've caught a frog before."

"I said frogs… plural. And it is an art, my friend. It is not to be taken lightly. There are ways and means. Few people know about it. I'm willing to share my secrets." Shane tells him and Carl looked at me and Lori

"Oh, I'm a girl. You talk to him." Lori says to him

"I'm with your mom on this one" I told him and he looked back forward

"It's a one-time offer, bud... not to be repeated."

"Why do we need frogs, plural?" Carl asked Shane

"You ever eat frog legs?"

"Eww!" Carl exclaimed

"No, yum!"

"No, he's right. Eww." I said in agreement

"When you get down to that last can of beans, you're gonna be loving those frog legs, lady. I can see it now…'Shane, do you think I could have a second helping, please? Please? Just one?'" Shane says looking at me

"Yeah, I doubt that." I told him looking back down at my gun after loading it and Shane chuckles.

"Don't listen to her, man. You and me, we'll be heroes. We'll feed these folks cajun-style Kermit legs."

"I would rather eat miss piggy." Lori says and I look at her, "Yes, that came out wrong."

Shane laughs, "Heroes, son, spoken of in song and legend. You and me, Shane and Carl." Just then we all hear a car alarm go off, "Talk to me Dale!" Shane hollers at him as we walk over to the RV

"I can't tell yet."

"Is it them?" Amy asked and I put my hand on her shoulder, "Are they back?"

"I'll be damned."

"What is it?" I asked him

"A stolen car is my guess." He says and I see Glenn pull in, "Holy crap. Turn that damn thing off!"

"I don't know how!" Glenn yells over the siren

"Pop the hood, please. Pop the damn hood, please." Shane tells him and he popped the hood then got out

"My sister Andrea. Is she okay? Is she all right?" Amy asked him

"She's okay! She's okay!"

"Is she coming back?" She asked

"Yes!"

"Why isn't she with you? Where is she? She's okay?" Amy continued to ask

"Yes! Yeah, fine. Everybody is. Well, Merle not so much."

"Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here? Are you trying to draw every Walker for miles?" Shane asked him

"I think we're okay." Dale tells him

"You call being stupid okay?"

"Shane knock it off" I tell him and he looked at me

"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pinpoint the source. I'm not arguing. I'm just saying. It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?" Dale asks Glenn

"Sorry. Got a cool car." Glenn pointed out and I put my arm around his shoulder

"I prefer my chevy's" I tell him and he smiled

"Andrea!" Andrea runs up to Amy and the two sisters hug, "Oh!"

"Oh my god! You scared the shit out of me."

Morales gets out of the truck and his wife and children runs up to him, "Papi! Daddy!"

"Hey. Come here, sweetie. Hey. I told you I'd be back, didn't I?"

"You are a welcome sight." Dale tells him they hug, "I thought we had lost you folks for sure."

"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" Shane asked

"New guy…he got us out." Glenn tells him

"New guy?"

"Yeah, crazy Vato just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello. The guy's a cop like you" Morales says to Shane and I looked over at the person who walked out from the vehicles and my heart stopped

"Rick?" I asked and look at Shane who looks shocked as Rick looked at me

"Kate?" He asked and I ran over to him hugging him, "Oh my god" He whispered in my ear as tears ran down my face

"Dad! Dad!" Carl yells and Rick moved away from me crying as he wrapped Carl up in his arms.

"Carl. Oh!" He kisses Carl on the cheek and Lori approaches. He hugs them both, and I looked at Shane, I saw disappointment and a bit of happiness in his eyes as he looked at me, I clenched my jaw and shook my head at him.

* * *

"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion… all those things but… Disoriented comes closest." Rick tells us that night as we gathered around the fire while him, Carl and Lori snuggled together

"Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short." Dale told him

"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever."

"Mom and Aunt Kate said you died." Carl told him

"They had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it."

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened." Lori says

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell. And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun." Rick tells her

"Yeah, looks don't deceive. I barely got them out, you know?" Shane said and I glared at him

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't begin to express it."

"There go those words falling short again. Paltry things." Dale says and Shane looked at me but I looked back at the fire.

"Hey, Ed, you want to rethink that log?" I hear Shane ask him and I looked up

"It's cold, man."

"The cold don't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?" Shane asked him

"I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once." Shane gets up and walks over to Ed's fire.

"I still can't believe you're here" I told Rick from next to them wiping a tear away and Rick looked over at me putting his hand on my shoulder

"Same here. I'm glad you're safe," He says and looked at Lori, "All of you" He kissed her as Shane walked back over.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" I hear Dale ask and I looked over at him, I was slowly getting to know Daryl but with his brother around all the time it was hard because he hit on me all the time causing Daryl to step in. Daryl was mostly quiet around all of us but he would make small talk with me here and there. Daryl was attractive, smart, and tough, I easily began to develop feelings for him but kept quiet because of his brother, "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind." Dale adds

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me." T-Dog mentioned

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine." Rick pointed out

"Guys, it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy." Glenn tells them

"I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from him." T-Dog says

"We could lie." Amy mentioned

"Or tell the truth. Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed. Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's." Andrea says

"And that's what we tell Daryl? I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise… We're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt." Dale points out and I stop listening and looked at the fire, this was not gonna go well.

* * *

The next day I walked over to Glenn as he watched Jim, Morales and Dale tear apart the car, "You know, this breaks my heart." I tell him and he sighed, I put my arm around his shoulder, "Oh come on now, least you got to enjoy it." He opened his mouth to say something but we hear a woman scream.

"Carl!" Lori yelled running towards it, Rick and I followed.

"Carl!" I yelled and we get to spot where we have a string full of cans at and Carl ran behind me to Lori and we kept going to the walker that was eating a deer, I look and saw two arrows in the dear, that had to be Daryl's.

The walker stands up and moved to us but Rick knocked it down and then they started beating on it, Dale finally cut its head off with an axe, "It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain." Dale mentioned

"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what." Jim points out then we hear branches snapping and footsteps, then I see Daryl come out of the forest

"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this… filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" He says as he kicks the carcass of the Walker

"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale tells him

"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "on golden pond"? I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" He asked pointing to the bite marks on the deer

"I would not risk that." Shane tell him and Daryl sighs.

"That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel… about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

Suddenly, the head of the Walker starts to move its teeth, "Oh god." Amy says

"Come on, people. What the hell?" Daryl shoots it with one of his arrows, "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" He asked walking away and he looked at me as he walked by heading back to camp, "Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up."

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane tells him and he looked at him

"About what?"

"About Merle. There was a…there was a problem in Atlanta." Shane says

"He dead?" Daryl asked him

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl yelled at him

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it..." Rick started to say but Daryl cut him off

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes." Rick introduced

"Rick grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" Daryl asked him

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."

Daryl started to pace, "Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!"

"Yeah."

Daryl goes to attack him, but Rick shoves him off, "Hey! Watch the knife!" T-Dog warned as Daryl pulls his knife out, but Shane is able to come up behind him and put him in a choke hold.

"Okay. Okay."

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl says to him

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't."

"Choke hold's illegal." Daryl tells him

"You can file a complaint. Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" Rick asked him bending down to Daryl who nodded his head, Shane lets him go, "What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it." T-Dog tells Daryl

"You couldn't pick it up?"

"Well, I dropped it in a drain." T-Dog says

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof… So the geeks couldn't get at him… With a padlock." T-Dog tried to reassure him

"It's gotta count for something." Rick adds

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him."

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori asked Rick

"I'm going back." He says and Lori walks into the RV shutting the door, Daryl huffed and headed over to his tent and I watched him go.

* * *

"So could you just… Could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?" I hear Shane ask Rick as they walked over

"Hey, choose your words more carefully." Daryl tells him

"No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant. Merle Dixon…The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst… me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being." Rick says to him

"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Lori asked him and he turned to face Glenn

"Oh, come on."

"You know the way. You've been there before…in and out, no problem. You said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask… I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would too." Rick tells him

"That's just great. Now you're gonna risk three men, huh?" Shane asked

"Shane" I warned him and he glanced at me

"Four." T-Dog says and Daryl scoffed

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?"

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?" T-Dog asked him

"Why you?"

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language." T-Dog pointed out

"That's four." Dale mentioned

"It's not just four. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that Walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp." Shane tells him

"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns."

"Right, the guns." Glenn adds

"Wait. What guns?" Shane asked him

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up."

"Ammo?" Shane asked

"700 rounds, assorted."

"You went through hell to find us. You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?" Lori asked Rick

"Dad, I don't want you to go." Carl says

"To hell with the guns. Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in. Tell me. Make me understand." Lori says to Rick as he walked over to her

"I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him."

"What's stopping you?" She asked

"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer."

"These are our walkies?" Shane asked him

"Yeah."

"So use the CB. What's wrong with that?" Andrea asked

"The CB's fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap…date back to the '70s, don't match any other bandwidth… Not even the scanners in our cars." Shane pointed out and Rick went over to talk to Lori and I walked up to Daryl.

"I'm sorry" I told him and he looked at me

"What for?"

"For what my broth...for what he did" I told him and we walked up to me

"That's your brother?" He asked me and I nodded then looked down

"Like I said, I'm sorry" I tell him and he gave a small huff

"Not like you did it" He says and I looked at him

"Well...um...be safe" I told him and turned to walk away seeing Shane look over at us. I looked away and continued walking.

* * *

"Dale. Have you seen Carl?" Lori asked him as we look up at him

"Shane took him down to the quarry. There was some mighty bold talk about catching frogs."

I looked at Lori and sighed, "I'll get him" I tell her and she nodded then I headed down to the quarry

* * *

"Hey, Carl, what did your mom tell you about not leaving Dale's sight?" I asked him walking over to them

"But Shane said we could catch frogs, remember?"

"It doesn't matter what Shane says. It matters what your mom says. Go on back to camp. I'll be right behind you." I tell him and Carl heads back up

"I've got to tell you, I do not think you should be taking this out on him." Shane told me and I look at him

"You don't tell me what to do. You lost that privilege." I tell him and start to walk away

"Kate, could you just wait up a sec? I think we should talk. We haven't had a chance…"

"No. No no. That's over too. You can tell that to the frogs." I said to him and he walked over and grabbed my arm

"Damn it, Kate. Look, I don't know how it appears to you or what you think…"

"How it appears to me?" I asked him pulling my arm away, "I'm sorry. Is there a gray area here? Let me dispel it. You stay away from me. You stay away from my nephew. You don't look at him. You don't talk to him. From now on, my family is off-limits to you."

"Kate, I don't think that's fair."

"Shane, shut up. Don't!" I warned

"I don't think that…"

"My brother is back. He is alive. You told me he was dead! I can't believe you are even trying to defend yourself." I tell him

"He's my best friend. Do you think I'm not happy about that? I told you after I got you guys out of there that I didn't hear a heartbeat."

I scoffed at him, "Yeah I know what you said, but yet here he is, alive and well" I told him and started to walk away again

"Something going on with you and Daryl? That why you told me nothing is gonna happen with us again?"

I turned and looked at him, "No, I told you that because there is nothing between you and me anymore, as far as Daryl goes it's none of your business." I tell him and walked away.

* * *

"Oh, baby. Will you look at that?" I hear Morales say and I see Amy and Andrea walk over with a bunch of fish, "Hey, check it out. Ladies…because of you my children will eat tonight. Thank you."

"Thank Dale. It's his canoe and gear." Andrea tells him

"Mom, Aunt Kate, look. Look at all the fish." Carl tells us and Morales holds the fish up to Lori

"Thank you." She giggled

"Whoa." Carl says

"Yeah, whoa. Where did you two learn to do that?" I asked them

"Our dad." Amy answered

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Carl asked her

"Sure. I'll teach you all about nail knots and stuff. If that's okay." She says looking at Lori

"You won't catch me arguing."

"Hey, Dale. When's the last time you oiled those line reels?" Andrea asked as Dale walked over, "They are a disgrace."

"I, uh, I don't want to alarm anyone, but we may have a bit of a problem." He says then Shane walked over, Dale pointed over to Jim who is still digging the holes.

* * *

"Hey, Jim. Jim, why don't you hold up, all right? Just give me a second here, please." Shane says to him when we walk up the hill

"What do you want?"

"We're all just a little concerned, that's all." Shane mentioned

"Dale says you've been out here for hours." Morales tells him

"So?"

"So why are you digging? Are you heading to China, Jim?" I asked him

"What does it matter? I'm not hurting anyone."

"Yeah, except maybe yourself. It's a hundred degrees today. You can't keep this up." I pointed out

"Sure I can. Watch me."

"Jim, they're not gonna say it so I will. You're scaring people. You're scaring my son and Carol's daughter." Lori tells him and I put my hand on Carl's shoulder

"They got nothing to be scared of. I mean, what the hell, people? I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone?"

"We think that you need to take a break, okay? Why don't you go and get yourself in the shade? Some food maybe. I'll tell you what… maybe in a little bit I'll come out here and help you myself. Jim, just tell me what it's about. Why don't you just go ahead and give me that shovel?" Shane asked him

"Or what?"

"There is no or what. I'm asking you. I'm coming to you and I'm asking you, please. I don't want to have to take it from you." Shane says

"And if I don't, then what? Then you're gonna beat my face in like Ed Peletier, aren't you?" He asked and looked at Carol, "Y'all seen his face, huh? What's left of it. See, now that's what happens when someone crosses you." Jim said to Shane

"That was different, Jim."

"You weren't there. Ed was out of control. He was hurting his wife." Amy defended

"That is their marriage. That is not his. He is not judge and jury. Who voted you king boss, huh?"

"Jim, I'm not here to argue with you, all right? Just give me the shovel, okay?" Shane asked moving towards him

"No, no, no."

"Just give me the… Jim!" Jim shoves Shane away and then threatens to hit him with it. Shane tackles Jim to the ground, "Okay, shh shh."

"You got no right!"

"Stop. Shh." Shane comforted as he pinned Jim's hands behind his back

"You got no right!"

"Jim, just stop it. Hey hey hey hey. Jim. Jim, nobody's gonna hurt you. You hear me? Shh. Jim, nobody is gonna hurt you, okay?" Shane tells him

"That's a lie. That's the biggest lie there is. I told that to my wife and my two boys. I said it 100 times. It didn't matter. They came out of nowhere. There were dozens of 'em. Just pulled 'em right out of my hands. You know, the only reason I got away was 'cause the dead were too busy eating my family." Jim tells us and I closed my eyes

* * *

Later that night we all gathered around enjoying the fish fry, "I've got to ask you, man. It's been driving me crazy." Morales says to Dale

"What?" Dale asked

"That watch."

"What's wrong with my watch?" Dale asks

"I see you every day, the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."

"I've wondered this myself." Jaqui adds

"I'm missing the point."

"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end. At least hit a speed bump for a good long while." Jaqui mentioned

"But there's you every day winding that stupid watch." Morales added

"Time… it's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least. Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here. I like… I like what, um, a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said, 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.'"

"You are so weird." Amy tells him and we all laugh.

"It's not me. It's Faulkner. William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing."

Amy gets up from the campfire, "Where are you going?" Andrea asked her

"I have to pee. Jeez, you try to be discreet around here…" She says and we laugh again as she walked away and I see Shane look at me but I ignored him and took a drink of water.

"We're out of toilet paper?" I hear Amy say from the RV then suddenly she screams, I look up and see a walker biting her arm.

Suddenly everyone screams and scatters, "Get behind me!" I yell to Carol as she protects Sophia and I grab my gun out then me and Shane start shooting at the walkers

"Lori get him down!" Shane yells and we continue shooting at the walkers, "Stay close! Stay close!" Shane yells leading Lori and Carl to the RV and I followed but I see walkers attacking a few more people and Jim is hitting them with a bat.

I tell Carol to stay by Shane then I run over to the tents shooting more of them then suddenly my gun runs out, "Shit!" I said and just when I was gonna grab my knife one walked up to me, I put my hands on it holding it back but we fell to the ground, it snaps it's teeth at me but just then it's pulled off and I see Daryl stab it in the head, he reached his hand out and I grabbed it. I silently thanked him then I grab my knife as we head back over to the others while killing walkers. When it was over I ran to Rick, Lori and my nephew hugging them making sure they were okay then I looked at Daryl who nodded at me

"Amy. I don't know what to do, Amy. Oh, Amy. Oh no no." I hear Andrea cry and I looked over at her Amy touches Andrea's cheek then she dies. Andrea begins to sob, "Amy! Amy! Amy!"

"I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes." Jim tells us


	2. Chapter 2

**We are the Walking Dead**

"Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us?" Daryl asked the others as we look over at Andrea as she sits looking at Amy, "The dead girl's a time bomb."

"What do you suggest?" My brother asked him

"Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."

"No. For God's sakes, let her be." Lori tells them sitting down and I sighed as Daryl walked away and I headed over to Glenn and T-Dog to help burn the dead walkers

"Wake up, Jimbo. We've got some work to do." Daryl tells him then him and Morales drag the body of a dead camper toward the fire.

"What are you guys doing?" Glenn asked them, "This is for geeks. Our people go over there."

"What's the difference? They're all infected." Daryl says

"Our people go in that row over there. We don't burn them!" Glenn tells him and I looked at Daryl, "We bury them. Understand? Our people go in that row over there." Glenn added then Daryl and Morales drag the body toward the digging hole.

"You reap what you sow." I hear Daryl say as him and Morales drag a body over to where Jim and Jaqui were at

"You know what? Shut up, man." Morales tells him

"Y'all left our brother for dead. You had this coming."

"Are you bleeding?" I hear Jaqui ask him

"I just got some on me from the bodies."

"That blood is fresh. Were you bit?" Jaqui asked

"No. I got scratched during the attack." He tells her bending to help

"You got bit." Jagui points out standing up

"I'm fine."

"Then show me." She tells him

"Don't tell, please."

"A walker got him. A walker bit Jim." Jaqui tells us backing away

"I'm okay. I'm okay."

"Show it to us. Show it to us." Daryl tells him and he backed up towards a shovel

"Easy, Jim." Shane says

"Grab him." Daryl tells T-Dog and Jim takes the shovel on the floor.

"Jim, put it down. Put it down." Shane ordered and T-Dog catches Jim back and holds him

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim repeats over and over, Daryl lifts Jim's shirt, revealing a deep wound.

"No" I whispered and Jaqui wrapped a comforting arm around me as they backed up

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim repeated

* * *

"I say we put a pick axe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl tells the others as we stand in a circle talking about Jim

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked him

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."

"I hate to say it…I never thought I would…but maybe Daryl's right." Dale interjected

"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." Rick started to tell him

"I'm not suggesting…"

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" Rick asked

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be." Daryl tells him

"What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure." Rick pointed out

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell." I say to him

"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?"

"Man, that is a stretch right there." Shane tells him

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection…"

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning." Shane mentioned

'That's 100 miles in the opposite direction." I tell him

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance." Rick says and I looked over at Jim who was sitting by the RV sitting in a cooler

"You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do." He said backing over to Jim

"Daryl" I warned him

"Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" He yelled and raised the pick axe to Jim but Rick stopped him by pointing his gun at Daryl

"We don't kill the living."

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head." Daryl tells him as Shane stands in front of Jim

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on." Shane tells him and Daryl glanced at me then put the pick axe down and goes away.

"Come with me." Rick says to Jim helping him up

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere safe." Rick tells him

* * *

"Hey" I said to Daryl walking over to him and he looked at me, "Thanks"

"What for?" He asked and swung the pick axe into a walkers head

"Helping me last night."

"It was nothin'" He tells me and I chuckled

"Just take the compliment Daryl." I said with a smirk

"Welcome" He grunted as he walked over to Ed's body but Carol stopped him

"I'll do it. He's my husband." She tells him and he looked at me, I nodded and he handed her the pick axe. She swings the pick axe down on Ed's skull repeatedly and releasing all of her anger against him. After she's done she stands there sobbing and I slowly walked over to her and reached for the pick axe while putting my other hand on her shoulder, I took it away and handed it back to Daryl pulling her into a hug

"It's okay Carol, it's ok" I reassured her then looked at Daryl

* * *

I sat in the passenger seat of Daryl's truck as he drove up the hill with the people we were burying in the back of it , "I'm sorry about Merle" I tell him and I see him look at me, "It wasn't the right way for Rick to go about it even though Merle does come off a little strong headed, but still...I'm sorry" I said and he stopped the truck to back it up.

"Like I said, not like it was you who did it, and I'm glad you weren't." He says and I looked at him confused then he looked away behind him and backed up then we got out, I see Shane look at us but I ignored him and helped Daryl with the bodies, "I still think it's a mistake not burning these bodies. It's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all, wasn't that the idea?" Daryl asked Shane and Rick as the rest of the group walk over

"At first." Shane tells him

"The Chinaman gets all emotional, says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along? These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are."

"There are no rules." Rick pointed out

"Well, that's a problem. We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do." Lori says and they proceed with burying the bodies then I see Andrea and Dale carry Amy's body, Andrea gets in the hole and tries to pull Amy in but struggles and I see Dale try to help her as she cries

"I can do it. I can do it. I can do it! I can do it." She tells him over and over but Dale helps her anyways then helped her out of the hole. We then stand there in silence

* * *

"I need you to help talk some sense into Rick." Shane says to me back at the camp after I finished changing, "Look, this C.D.C. thing, Kate, it's a mistake. So you're backing him?"

"What else would I do? He's my brother."

"Look, you can't tell me that this is worth putting people's lives at risk." He tells me

"I think folks around here can make up their minds without bringing my family into it. It's a habit you need to break."

"I guess I'll just add it to the list of habits that I'm breaking whether I like it or not." He said to me as we get to the RV and Rick emerges.

"What habits?"

"Just talking about my need for a plan, man. So what is it? Are we leaving or not?" Shane asked him, "Maybe y'all just want to stay here. We could hang some more tin cans."

"We can't stay here. We both know that."

"Like I was just telling Shane I think we should trust your gut." I said to Rick who looked between me and Shane

"Let's go do our sweep." Shane says to him and they walk away

* * *

"Everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?" Shane told us

"We're, uh… We're… we're not going." Morales says to him

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people." Miranda added

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back."

"We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family." Morales pointed out

"You sure?" Rick asked him

"We talked about it. We're sure."

"All right. Shane." Rick says to him and they bend down to the gun bag. Rick hands Morales a gun and Shane hands him ammo.

"The box is half full." Shane tells them

"Thank you all… For everything." Miranda tells us and Lori hugs her then I hug her as well and kiss the top of their childrens heads then hug Morales. Eliza gives her doll to Sophia, who is crying.

"Bye." Eliza tells her

"Channel 40 if you change your minds. All right?" Rick asked him handing him a radio

We all head to the vehicles and I look at my brother, "I'm gonna ride with Daryl," He looked at me confused, "It's gonna be cramped in the other vehicles, even the RV." I told him and he nodded then I walked over to Daryl's truck

"What are you doing?" He asked me

"Keeping you company" I said and got in hearing him huff then he got in too and we drove off.

* * *

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from the cube van." Dale tells Rick after we stop on the road

"Can you jury-rig it?"

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape." Dale pointed out

"I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky." Shane tells us and Jacqui gets out of the RV.

"Y'all, Jim… It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore." She says and goes back to Jim

"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back." Shane tells him and Rick nodded heading to the RV

"Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up." T-Dog tells Shane

"Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back."

I stood with my back leaning against Daryl's truck when he walked over to me, "What are ya doin'?"

"Just thinking"

"About what?" He asked and I looked at him

"My 10th birthday" I tell with a laugh, "Yeah I know it's weird, but it's the best memory I have with Rick, other then the day Carl was born. He took me to a new amusement park that opened up just one town over. We ate so much junk food and rode almost all the rides, we didn't get back home until about 10, our dad was mad but...it was the best day ever." I said and looked at him, "What?" I asked with a smile

"Nothin', you're right, weird thing to think about right now."

"Yeah well I'm a weird person." I said

"I've noticed" I lightly pushed him and he gave a small smile, he may not show it much but he really is a nice guy, I honestly wanted to tell him that I had feelings for him but I know he probably didn't feel the same.

* * *

"It's what he says he wants." Rick tells us concerning Jim

"And he's lucid?" I asked him

"He seems to be. I would say yes."

"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer." Dale pointed out

"We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that." Shane mentioned

"It's not your call, either one of you." Lori says

Rick and Shane carry Jim to a nearby tree, "Hey, another damn tree." Jim chuckles.

"Hey, Jim… I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this." Shane tells him

"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice." Shane says and stands up then Jaqui knelt in front of him

"Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight." Jacqui kisses him on the cheek.

I knelt down and grabbed his hand then kissed him on the cheek too, "Goodbye Jim" I tell him and he smiled

Rick takes a gun and shows him, "Jim, do you want this?"

"No. You'll need it. I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim tells him, we all say our goodbyes and left, leaving Jim there.

* * *

"All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on. Stay quiet. Let's go." Shane tells us as we get out of the vehicles at the CDC and see dead bodies everywhere

"We're almost there, baby. Almost there." Lori says to Carl as I walked next to Daryl

"Nothing?" Shane pounds on door.

"There's nobody here." T-Dog pointed out

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick asked

"Walkers!" Daryl says shooting one that was getting close to us, "You led us into a graveyard!" He shouted at Rick

"He made a call." Shane tells him

"It was the wrong damn call!"

"Just shut up. You hear?" Shane says and shoved him. Daryl went to move to him but I held him back and he looked at me, "Shut up. Shut up! Rick, this is a dead end."

"Where are we gonna go?" Jaqui asked

"Do you hear me? No blame." Shane tells Rick

"She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark." Lori mentioned

"Fort Benning, Rick… Still an option." Shane suggested

"On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles." Andrea says

"125. I checked the map." Glenn corrected

"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now." Lori told Rick

"We'll think of something."

"Come on, let's go. Let's get out of here. Let's go. Please." Shane tells us and started to move us back to head to the cars

"The camera… it moved." Rick says and we look back at him

"You imagined it." Shane told him

"It moved. It moved."

"Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on. Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick." Shane says and Rick slams on the shutters.

"Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori says moving in front of him

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me." Shane tries to drag him away, with the help of Lori.

"Everybody get back to the cars now!" Shane ordered us and I stayed by Daryl who kept me behind him.

"Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left." Rick begs to the camera, "We have nowhere else to go." Rick pounds on the door, "If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!"

"Come on, buddy, let's go. Let's go." Shane says trying to pull him away

"Please help us. You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" We are just about to leave when the door to the CDC opens, drowning us in light

* * *

"Daryl, Kate you cover the back." Shane tells us and we cover everyone as they go inside

"Hello? Hello?" Rick called and we hear a gun cock, we all turn around and I raise mine up along with Daryl

"Anybody infected?" The man at the top of the stairs asked

"One of our group was. He didn't make it." Rick told him

"Why are you here? What do you want?"

"A chance." Rick says

"That's asking an awful lot these days." The man says to him

"I know."

"You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission." He told us lower his gun

"We can do that." Rick agreed

"You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed." The man told us walking down the stairs

"Stay here" I told my mom and ran out with Daryl, T-Dog, Rick, Shane and Glenn grabbing our things then came back inside

"Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here." The man says out loud and the doors shut

"Rick Grimes." Rick introduced

"Dr. Edwin Jenner."

* * *

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked him from next to me in the elevator

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough. Except you." He says looking at Carl, "I'll have to keep my eye on you." He tells him and Carl smiled then looked at me, I winked at him and we reached the level getting off

"Are we underground?" Carol asked him

"Are you claustrophobic?"

"A little." she said

"Try not to think about it." He says and we enter a computer room, "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room." He said and the lights came on, "Welcome to zone 5."

"Where is everybody? The other doctors, the staff?" Rick asked him

"I'm it. It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" I asked

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them...Welcome."

 _Hello, guests. Welcome._

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry."

* * *

"What's the point? If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever." Andrea tells him as he gets ready to take her blood

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough" The syringe clicks, "All done." He tells her and she stands up but looked like she was gonna pass out, "Are you okay?"

"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have." Jaqui told him moving over to help her

* * *

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France." Dale says to Lori as she held her hand over Carl's glass while we ate

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then."

"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick asked her, "Come on." He says and she looked at him then lifted her hand up

"There you are, young lad." Dale says to him handing Carl his glass with only a little in it and Carl took a drink

"Eww." Carl says in disgust and we all laugh

"That's my boy. That's my boy. Good boy." Lori says to him and poured it into her glass

I look over to see Daryl as he sat down next to me straddling the back of the chair, he hands me a glass of wine with a small smirk on his face and I take the glass then he stood up again.

"Well, just stick to sour pop there, bud." Shane says to Carl

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl says to him

"What?"

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get." He says and I rolled my eyes smiling at him then I see Daryl and Shane both look at me

Rick stands up clinking his glass, "It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog adds and we all raise our glasses

"Hear hear!"

"Booyah!" Daryl exclaimed and I shook my head

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc? All the... the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, - where are they?" Shane asked him

"We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now." Rick says to him

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move... Supposed to find all the answers. Instead we...We found him. Found one man. Why?"

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left. Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted." Jenner answered

"Every last one?" Shane asked

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They...opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea asked him

"I just kept working. Hoping to do some good." Jenner finished and the room fell silent

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man." Glenn says to Shane

* * *

"Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies... If you shower, go easy on the hot water." Jenner said leading us down the hall then walked away, we all looked at each other in shock

"Hot water?" Glenn asked

"That's what the man said." T-Dog replied and everyone hurried off to find a room, I found one that I was gonna have by myself and set my bag down. I opened my bag up grabbing some clothes and headed to the shower room, the hot water felt so great on my skin as I washed dirt and blood off of me.

* * *

"Any good books?" I asked Carol when I walked into the rec room that her, Sophia and Carl were in

"Uh-huh. Enough to keep us busy for years." She says closing the book and stood up, "All right. Come on, kids, it's bedtime."

"I'm gonna browse a bit." I tell her as they start to leave

"This is the first night we might actually get some real sleep." Carol says and looked at Sophia, "It's a miracle, isn't it?"

"Good night Aunt Kate." Carl says and hugged my waist

I kissed the top of his head, "Night buddy"

After they leave I stand there looking at the books holding my wine glass when I hear the door slam, I jumped then see Shane standing there, "Jesus, you scared me."

"I'm gonna tell you a few things and you're gonna listen to me."

"Now is not the time." I tell him moving forward to leave

"Come on. When is it ever the time? How can you treat me like this?" He asked me and I scoffed

"You're kidding, right? Because you told me my brother was dead."

"I didn't lie to you, all right?" He asked and I scoffed again rolling my eyes, "I didn't. Do you know what it was like there?"

"Stop."

"Things were falling apart. They were slaughtering people in the hallways. It was a massacre. There were walkers everywhere." He says to me

"So you left him?"

"Everybody else ran. There were no doctors there. It was just me. He was hooked up to machines and I did not know what to do. I even took my ear and I put it on his chest and I listened for a heartbeat and I did not hear one. And I-I-I-I...I don't know why. Maybe it was gunfire. I don't know what it was, but there was no way he could've survived that. No way." He says moving closer to me but I tried to back up but he followed and I was backed up to a table.

"He did."

"Yeah, but then I had y'all to think about, didn't I? I had you, Lori, and Carl that I needed to think about..." He says and I held my hands up trying to calm him

"Okay."

"No no. I had to get you guys safe to Atlanta. That's what I had to do." He told me and I tried to stand up but he lightly pushed me back down, "Just stop. If you thought for one second that he was still alive, would you have come? So I saved your life... you, Lori's and your nephew. That's what I did. Right? Okay. And if I could've traded places with him, I would have." He says and leaned towards me but I tried to push him away, "No no no. No. No no no, you... I love you."

"No. No, you're drunk." I tell him trying to push him away

"I love you." He says again

"No, you're drunk."

"And I know there were some things that say that you love me too. Because there's no way that you could've been with me the way that you were." He says trying to kiss me but I move my face away and he tried to kiss me again

"Shane. Shane. Shane!" I pleaded as I fought against him but he put his hands on me and started to rub his hand between my legs over my shorts

"Just... Okay, stop. Listen. You love me."

"Get your hands off me. Get your hands off me. Help!" I yelled

"I love you. There's nobody here."

"Please! No!" I begged and as I dug my nails into his neck he was pulled off me and I see Daryl standing there

"The hell do you think you're doing!" He yelled at him standing in front of me and Shane stood up

"Just having a conversation" Shane tried to defend

"Didn't sound like that to me." He says and Shane scoffed

"What it was, was none of your business."

"You're gonna stay away from her or next time you'll be sorry." Daryl warned him and grabbed my hand bringing me out of the room to mine, "You okay?" He asked shutting the door and I had my arms crossed facing away from him

I sniffled and shook my head, "No...I'm not" I said trying to hold back tears, "Thank you"

"Did he hurt you?"

"Just my pride" I said facing him, "Former Army Sergeant and I get scared by my ex trying to force himself on me." I sat down on the pull out bed and Daryl stood there

"It's ok to feel that way" He says and I give him a small smile

"Thanks," I wiped my eyes and see him start to leave, "Would you mind staying here? I kind of don't want to be alone" I tell him and he lightly nodded moving to the floor, "Daryl you don't have to sleep on the floor, there's plenty of room here" I indicated to the bed and he hesitated but went to the other side, I moved far enough away so he wouldn't feel even more uncomfortable then he probably already did, "Night" I tell him and he grumbled then shifted, I laid there for a few more moments scared to close my eyes but they eventually did and I fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning I woke up and felt something firm under my head, I rubbed my eyes and saw Daryl there still asleep with his arm around me and the other under his head as he laid on his back. I silently cursed to myself as I tried to carefully move away from him but I wasn't quick enough and he shifted then slowly woke up and looked at me, "I um..." I started to say but there was a knock on the door so I jolted out of bed as it opened

"Hey you comin' to..." I hear my brother say as he opened the door, he looked at me then Daryl who was sitting on the edge of the bed

"I'll be right there." I told him and he gave one more look then left, "Awesome" I said under my breath and looked at Daryl, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It happens" He says and stood up

"I'm gonna get dressed now."

"See you out there" He says and walked out glancing back at me

Once the door shut I exhaled and ran my fingers through my hair trying to calm my heart, "Oh my god" I groaned then proceeded to change and headed to the cafeteria where I saw the others at and I sit next to a very hungover Glenn.

"Don't ever ever ever let me drink again." Glenn groaned and I rubbed his back and smiled at Jaqui then I see Daryl walk in, I looked at him as he glanced at me, I half expected him to sit away from me but to my surprise he sat down next to me.

"Morning" I tell him not looking at him and he moved closer to me, I looked at him confused but then I saw Shane walk in.

"Hey." Shane greeted and I looked at my plate feeling Daryl tense

"Hey. Feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked him

"Worse."

"The hell happened to you? Your neck?" T-Dog asked and I looked to see my nail marks on his neck

"I must have done it in my sleep."

"Never seen you do that before." Rick pointed out

"Me neither. Not like me at all." Shane says looking at me and I looked back down at my food feeling Daryl tense even more. I grabbed his hand under the table and he looked at me, Shane was looking at his plate so I shook my head no at Daryl then Jenner walked in.

"Morning." Jenner says walking in

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing..." Dale starts to say

"But you will anyway."

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea told him

* * *

"Give me playback of TS-19." Jenner says to the computer as we walk into the computer room

 _Playback of TS-19._

"Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few." He tells us and we look at the screen to see a brain

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked him

"An extraordinary one. Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for E.I.V."

 _Enhanced internal view._

"What are those lights?" Shane asked him

"It's a person's life...experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you...the thing that makes you unique. And human."

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl asked him from next to me and I looked at him then back at the screen

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick asks

"Yes. Or rather the playback of the vigil."

"This person died? Who?" Andrea asked him

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected...and volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event.

 _Scanning to first event._

"What is that?" Glenn asked as we see part of the brain start to darken

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be... Gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked Carol

"Yes."

I see Andrea look down, "She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister." Lori tells Jenner

"I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is. Scan to the second event."

 _Scanning to second event._

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute... Seven seconds."

"It restarts the brain?" I asked seeing red electricity going through the now completely darkened brain

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked

"You tell me."

"It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark." Rick points out

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part... That doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct." Jenner says and we see a light streak go through the brain

"God. What was that?" Carol asked

"He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?" Andrea asked

"Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations."

 _Powering down main screen and workstations._

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asks

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal."

"Or the wrath of God?" Jaqui says

"There is that."

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere." Andrea says

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked

"There may be some. People like me."

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick asked him

"Everything went down. Communications, directives... all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

"So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?" I asked and I put my hands on my face

"Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk...again." Daryl says from behind me

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but...that clock...it's counting down. What happens at zero?" Dale asked him

"The basement generators...they run out of fuel."

"And then?" Rick asked him but he walked away, "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"

 _When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur._

* * *

I sat in my room when there was a knock on my door, I got up and went to open it hoping it wasn't Shane but luckily I saw Daryl standing there, "Hey"

"Can I come in?" He asked and I nodded letting him in, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." I tell him and he nodded, "Umm Daryl about this morning.."

"It happens" He says and I sighed

"Yeah but, you already felt uncomfortable enough when I asked you to stay, then this morning it just.."

"Kate," He says moving a little closer, "It's fine." He told me and I nodded, "Kate..." He started to say something else but the lights in my room turned off

"Daryl?" I asked and saw him move to the door opening it and I looked out in the hall with him seeing Jenner walk by

"Why is the air off?" Lori asked

"And the lights in our room?" Carol asks

"What's going on? Why is everything turned off?" Daryl asked as well and Jenner grabbed his bottle

"Energy use is being prioritized."

"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale asked him and we started to follow him

"It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down."

"Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Daryl asked him but he kept silent so Daryl caught up to him, "Hey man, I'm talking to you. What do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Rick?" Lori asked looking over the railing of the stairs Jenner walked down and we followed

"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked him

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule." He tells us and took a drink of the whiskey handing it back to Daryl who snatched it out of Jenner's hand, "It was the French."

"What?" I asked him

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

"What happened?" Andrea asked him

"The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs of fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" Jenner asked and moved to the computer

"Let me tell you..." Shane started to tell him but Rick pulled him back

"To hell with it, Shane. I don't even care. Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!" Rick tells them and I pulled Carl to me when suddenly an alarm goes off.

"What's that?" Carl asked and I wrapped my arm around him

 _30 minutes to decontamination._

"Doc, what's going on here?" Daryl asked him

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go! Go now! Go!" Shane says to us and we started to move again but the door shut

"Did you just lock us in? He just locked us in!" Glenn yelled

"Carl" Lori says rushing over to him and pulled him to her and I stayed by them

"You son of a bitch." Daryl yelled running over to Jenner grabbing him, "You let us out of here!"

"No, stop. Don't!" Shane says as him and T-Dog hold Daryl back

"Hey, Jenner, open that door now." Rick demanded

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well, open the damn things." Dale tells him

"That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way."

"What is? What happens in 28 minutes?" Rick asked as I stood by my nephew and Lori, Jenner doesn't answer and Shane kicked his chair, "What happens in 28 minutes?!"

"You know what this place is?! We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever! In the event of a catastrophic power failure... in a terrorist attack, for example... H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H.I.T.s?" Rick asked him

"Vi, define."

 _H.I.T.s... high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000° and 6,000° and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired._

"It sets the air on fire." Jenner says and I put my hand over my mouth as Rick walked over to us pulling us into a hug and I try to hold back tears as they cry, I put my hand on Carl's shoulder and look at Daryl, "No pain. An end to sorrow, grief... Regret. Everything."

* * *

"Open the damn door!" Daryl yelled at him after throwing the bottle of whiskey at it, I stood next to the computer that Lori, Carol, Sophia and Carl were sitting down in front of, Rick walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Out of my way!" Shane yelled running over the doors with an axe

"Daryl!" T-Dog yelled throwing him one as well and both him and Shane continued hitting the door

"You should've left well enough alone. It would've been so much easier." Jenner told us

"Easier for who?" Lori asked him holding Carl

"All of you. You know what's out there... A short, brutal life and an agonizing death. Your... your sister... what was her name?" He asked Andrea

"Amy."

"Amy. You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that really what you want for your wife and son?" He asked Rick

"I don't want this."

"Can't make a dent." Shane says coming over out of breath

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner told him

"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl yelled raising the axe then Shane, T-Dog and Rick pushed his back and he walked over to me huffing, I looked at him then back at Jenner

"You do want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead." Jenner says to Rick and we all look at him in shock

"What?" I asked Rick in disbelief as he looked at us

"What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane asked him

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick asked looking at Lori

"There is no hope. There never was." Jenner tells him

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere."

"What part of "everything is gone" do you not understand?" Andrea asked him

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."

"This isn't right. You can't just keep us here." Carol cried

"One tiny moment... a millisecond. No pain."

"My daughters don't deserve to die like this." She says standing Sophia up

"Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" Jenner asked us and I hear a gun cock, I turned to see Shane point a rifle at Jenner

"Shane, no!" Rick yelled at him as I moved Carl behind me when him and Lori stood up out of the way

"Out of the way, Rick! Stay out of my way!" He yelled, "Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?!"

"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this. We will never get out of here." Rick tells him

"Shane, you listen to him." Lori adds

"It's too late."

"He dies, we all...We all die!" Rick said and Shane yelled then started to shoot at the computers, me and Lori bend down and cover Carl as he continues

"Shane! Shane!" Rick yelled and Shane stopped, "Are you done now? Are you done?" He asked him

"Yeah, I guess we all are."

Shane walked away and Rick turned to Jenner, "I think you're lying."

"What?"

"You're lying about no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?" Rick asked him

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?" Risk asks

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise...to her. My wife."

"Test subject 19 was your wife?" I asked him

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just... Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me."

"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's... that's all we want... a choice, a chance." Rick pleaded and I looked over at Daryl who went back to hitting the door, "Let us keep trying as long as we can."

Jenner stood there in hesitation, "I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those." He says and the door opens

"Come on! Let's go!" Daryl yells at us and I grab Lori's hand dragging her up the ramp to the door and I stopped in front of Daryl looking back to see Jenner whisper something in Rick's ear and Lori moved Carl to me and went down to him to pull him away

"Rick!" I yelled at him

"Hey, we've got four minutes left! Come on!" Glenn yelled at them as I kept my hands on Carl's shoulders as they ran back up and Carl went to Lori

"No no, I'm staying. I'm staying, sweetie." Jaqui said and I went to walk to her but Daryl held my arm stopping me

"But that's insane!" T-Dog told her

"No, it's completely sane. For the first time in a long time. I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue and no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out. Get out."

"T-Dog. Come on." I say to him and I see Andrea still standing where she was

"I'm staying too." She says and walks away

"Andrea, no." Dale tells her then looked at us, "Just go! Go!" He yelled and Daryl's hand went from my arm to my hand pulling me and we started to run making our way to the top level.

"Get them doors open!" Glenn yelled as T-Dog banged on them then they tried the keypad. I see Shane and Daryl run over to a window with the axes and started hitting them

"Stay close, sweetheart." Carol tells Sophia

"Daryl, look out!" T-Dog yelled running over to the window with a chair throwing it but nothing

"Dog, get down! Get down!" Shane tells him and shot at the window with a rifle but it didn't do anything, "Jesus."

"The glass won't break?" Sophia asked and I wrapped my arm around Carl keeping him by me

"Rick, I have something that might help." She tells him digging in her purse

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Shane says to her

"Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket." She held up a grenade and Rick looked at her then grabbed it

"Carl come on" I tell him and Lori moved over to us and she ducked down covering Carl then Daryl moved over to me and did the same thing

"Get down! Get down!" Shane yelled

"Shit!" I hear Rick yell then there was a loud boom and the glass shattered

"Come on" Daryl says and grabbed my hand and we made our way to the window, he helped me out then I grabbed my gun. We make our way to the vehicles killing walkers along the way. I followed Daryl to his truck and got in with him following.

"Dale get down!" I hear Lori yell then I feel Daryl cover my head as we ducked in the seat and there was a loud explosion which shook the truck a little. When we looked up we saw the CDC up in flames, my heart was pounding out of my chest as I watched, I look at Daryl then he grabbed my face and kissed me. I tensed in shock and he pulled away, I stared at him catching my breath then he turned and started the truck then followed the others as we left the place we thought we would be safe at.


	3. Chapter 3

**We are the walking Dead**

It's been days since the CDC, we were traveling for miles until gas became harder and harder to find so we dumped a few vehicles including Daryl's truck so I had to ride in the RV with Dale, Glenn, T-Dog, Andrea and Shane.

"Looks complicated." Andrea says to Shane as he sat there cleaning his gun and I glanced at them from the back room where me and T-Dog were at

"I could clean yours, show you how." He said to Andrea, "Oh yeah. It's a sweet piece."

"It was a gift from my father. He gave it to me just before Amy and I took off on our road trip. He said two girls on their own should be able to defend themselves."

"Smart man, your father. Look, it's a- it's a limited capacity. See? Only holds seven rounds." He pointed out

"Oh jeez." Dale says and both me and T-Dog walk out from the back looking out the window seeing nothing but cars, I hear Daryl's motorcycle pull up to Dale's window, we haven't really talked about what happened at the CDC. I kind of hoped he didn't regret it, but how could he not? He only did it because we just about died, "See a way through?" Dale asked him and Daryl drove around then Dale followed him through the cars

"Uh, maybe we should just go back. There's an interstate bypass-" Glenn started to say looking at the map but Dale cut him off

"We can't spare the fuel." Just then the engine started sputtering then we stop and get out, "I said it. Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water."

"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked him

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-" He paused looking around and Daryl walked over to the truck of a car I was at looking inside it, "Okay, that was dumb."

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane pointed out

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl says rummaging through and I shook my head

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog mentioned

"I'll help you with that" I tell him and he nodded

"Maybe some water." My mom says

"Or food." Glenn added

"This is a graveyard." Lori says, "I don't know how I feel about this."

"All right, all right, here we go." T-Dog says and we head to get the gas cans and hoses

"Come on, y'all. Just look around, gather what you can." Shane tells us, me and T-Dog made our way through the cars. Daryl popped open the tank cover of one car for T-Dog who then stuck the hose in then came up to me and opened one at the car I was at then walked past me, I looked at him as he walked away and continued what I was doing.

"Hey, Carl. Always within my sight, okay? Or your aunt's" I hear Lori tell him

"You too, Sophia" Carol added and I moved to another car keeping my eye on my nephew.

I finished siphoning a tank when I feel someone come up behind me putting their hand over my mouth, I looked at Daryl who shushed me then pointed forward, I saw a bunch of walkers coming towards us, "Oh shit" I whispered and he grabbed my hand moving us around a car and I got under it then he took off. I looked out from underneath mine and saw Carl under another one, I tried my hardest to see where Daryl went as I see walkers shuffle past me

Everything got quiet and suddenly I hear Sophia start to cry and I see a walker trying to get her while she was under the car and she got out and ran to the woods, I quickly rolled out from under mine running to go after her but Shane stopped me.

"Let me go" I pushed him away as Carol and Lori ran over

"Lori, there are 2 walkers after my baby" Carol cried and Lori shushed her so the herd wouldn't come back.

* * *

"Why aren't we all out there looking? Why are we moving cars?" Carol asked Dale walking towards us

"We have to clear enough room so I can get the R.V. turned around as soon as it's running. Now that we have fuel we can double back to a bypass that Glenn flagged on the map."

"Going back's going to be easier than trying to get through this mess." Shane adds

"We're not going anywhere till my daughter gets back." Carol tells us and I put my hand on her shoulder

"Hey, that goes without saying."

"Rick and Daryl, they're on it, okay? Just a matter of time." Shane reassured her

"Can't be soon enough for me. I'm still freaked out from that herd that passed us by, or whatever you'd call it." Andrea says

"Yeah, what was that? All of them just marching along like that." Glenn asked

"A herd. That sounds about right. We've seen it. It's like the night camp got attacked. Some wandering pack, only fewer. Okay. Come on, people. We still got a lot to do. Let's stay on it. Let's go, come on." Shane tells us and I walked over to Carol

"Do you need anything?" I asked and she shook her head, "I'll get you some water." I tell her and walked away then walked back handing her some water and she smiled and I headed back to the cars.

* * *

"Shane." I hear Carl say and I went over to him

"Carl, what happened?" I asked him and looked over at Lori who looked at me and I nodded to her

"I found something cool. Shane, check it out." He says and unrolls a satchel of weapons, "It's an arsenal."

"That's cool, bud. Go give 'em to Dale." Shane told him as he worked on a car

"Check this one out. Whoa, it's a hatchet."

"Be careful. Don't play with those." I tell Carl walking over to him

"They're really sharp."

"What did I just say?" I asked him and he looked at me

"Can I keep one?"

"Are you crazy?" I ask him

"No way. Shane. Shane, tell her to let me keep one."

"Hey, man, go give them all to Dale now. Go." Shane snapped and Carl grabbed the satchel then walked away

"Carl.." I started to say but he kept going, "What was that?" I asked Shane

"What was what?"

"The way you blew him off just now. You crushed him." I tell him and he ignored me, "I don't believe you. You're giving me the cold shoulder?" I asked him

"Isn't that what you want? Aren't you the one who said stay the hell away from him and you?"

"You forget what happened at the CDC? Your little meltdown in the rec room slip your mind? When you tried-" I started to say

"When I tried to what? What do you think that was?"

"I think it is pretty plain what that was." I tell him

"A mistake. One that I admit to. I have a few mistakes under my belt, Kate. So do you."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Like what got you discharged" He said and I scoffed

"Yeah, yeah that was a mistake, but Shane, we need to stop this." I said

"Why do you think I'm prepping my new ride? I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" I asked him

"As in gone for good. Gonna quietly slip away first chance I get."

"Well good riddance" I tell him and start to walk away when I hear a voice come over the radio of his car

 _"The emergency alert system has been activated. The Office of Civil Defense has issued the following message: Normal broadcasting will cease immediately. This is a civil emergency."_

"Is that a local signal?" Glenn asked

"It's got to be within 50 miles of here." Dale points out

 _"Avoid anyone infected at all costs. Remain calm. Help is on the way. The emergency alert system has been activated."_

"Asshole." Shane says turning the radio off, "Okay, let's get back to work." He tells us and I rolled my eyes then walked away

* * *

"You didn't find her?" I hear Carol ask as I see Rick and Daryl walk back to us then Daryl looked at me

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light." Rick tells her

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods."

"Out in the dark's no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost." Daryl adds

"But she's 12. She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?" Carol asked him and I put my hand on her back comforting her

"I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there. And we tracked her for a while. We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this."

'Is that blood?" I asked Daryl looking at his legs

"We took down a walker."

"Walker? Oh my God." Carol says

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia." Rick informed

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked

"We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure." Daryl replied

"Oh God." Carol says sitting down on the railing and Lori sat next to her, "How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?" Carol asked Rick and I felt a little anger in her voice

"Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw them off. It was her best chance."

"Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol." Shane tells her

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child. She's just a child."

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make." Rick adds

"I'm sure nobody doubts that." Shane said

"My little girl got left in the woods." Carol cried, me and Andrea went over and comforted her as Rick walked away

* * *

"Everybody takes a weapon." Rick tells us the next day unrolling a sack full of weapons

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea asked and I rolled my eyes, she was starting to get on my last nerve with the gun thing

"We've been over that. Daryl, Rick, Kate and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles." Shane tells her

"It's not the trees I'm worried about."

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it." He adds

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark." Daryl says

"Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other." Rick told us and I grabbed my bag. Daryl walked over to me and looked like he was about to say something but we heard Andrea talking to Dale

"No, Dale, you're doing it for you. You need to stop." We hear Andrea say and looked over at them, "What do you think's gonna happen? I'm gonna stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?" She asked him

"I know you're angry at me. That much is clear. But if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now."

"Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay." She says

"You chose suicide."

"So what's that to you? You barely know me." She mentioned

"I know Amy's death devastated you."

"Keep her out of this. This is not about Amy. This is about us. And if I decided that I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that?" She asked him

"I saved your life."

"No, Dale. I saved yours. You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands and that is the only reason I left that building. What did you expect? What, I'd have some kind of epiphany? Some life-affirming catharsis?" She asks

"Maybe just a little gratitude."

"Gratitude? I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by drooling freaks. That was my choice. You took that away from me, Dale." She tells him

"But-"

"But you know better?" She asked cutting him off, "All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this endless horrific nightmare we live every day. I wasn't hurting anyone else. You took my choice away, Dale. And you expect gratitude?"

"I don't know what to say."

"I'm not your little girl. I'm not your wife. And I am sure as hell not your problem. That's all there is to say." She says then walked away leaving him looking like a wounded puppy, I gave him a sad smile and we all walked off heading to the woods.

* * *

As we walked through the woods we came up on a tent and Daryl stopped us, "She could be in there" Shane pointed out

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." Daryl added and the three of them moved forward to the tent as we followed slowly behind, Daryl grabbed out his knife and looked around trying to peak inside.

"Carol." Rick called and she walked over, "Call out softly. If she's in there, yours is the first voice she should hear."

"Sophia, sweetie, are you in there? Sophia, it's mommy. Sophia. We're all here, baby. It's mommy." She called and Daryl slowly unzipped the tent flap and they coughed and gagged then Daryl went in

"Daryl? Daryl?" She asked and he came out

"It ain't her." He said and I sighed

"What's in there?" Andrea asked

"Some guy. Did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?" He asked then we hear church bells ringing in the distance and we all start running

"What direction?" Shane asked

"I think that way. I'm pretty sure." Rick told him

"Damn, it's hard to tell out here."

"If we heard them, maybe Sophia did too." my mom pointed out

"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others." Glenn says

"Or signaling they found her." Andrea added

"She could be ringing them herself." I mentioned and we started to run towards the sound coming up on a church with a cemetery in front of it

"That can't be it. Got no steeple, no bells." Shane says but Rick ran towards it anyways

"Rick!" I yelled after him and we followed. We ran up the steps catching up to him, I grabbed out my knife and we paused then he opened the doors, there were walkers sitting in the pews and they stand up, I walked over to one and stabbed it in the head with my knife. I heard Daryl make kissing sounds then he stabbed on as well.

"Sophia!" Rick yelled opening a door then shutting it

"Yo, J.C., you taking requests?" Daryl asked the statue

"I'm telling you, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Phoebe. There's no steeple." Shane says and the bells ring again, we run outside and move to the side of it seeing a speaker up top, Glenn opened the box and unplugged it

"A timer. It's on a timer." Daryl pointed out

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol says and headed inside then we followed

* * *

"Father, forgive me. I don't deserve your mercy. I prayed for safe passage from Atlanta and you provided. I prayed for Ed to be punished for laying his hands on me and for looking at his own daughter with whatever sickness was growing in his soul. I prayed you'd put a stop to it, give me a chance to raise her right, help her not make my mistakes. She's so fearful. She's so young in her way. She hasn't had a chance. Praying for Ed's death was a sin. Please, don't let this be my punishment. Let her be safe, alive and safe. Please, lord. Punish me however you want, but show mercy on her." Carol prays and walked over sitting down next to Lori. I put my head down and feel Daryl put his hand on my shoulder but I walked out heading over to Carl pulling him into a hug, he was worried for Sophia, so was I, and I couldn't imagine what would happen if it was him, I do know that I would stop at nothing to find him.

* * *

"Y'all gonna follow the Creek Bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough." Shane informed us as him and Rick walked over

"You're splitting us up. You sure?" Daryl asked him

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

"I want to stay too. I'm her friend." Carl says and I smiled

"Just be careful, okay?" Lori asked him

"I will."

"When did you start growing up?" She asks kissing the top of his head

"I'll be along soon enough. Here, take this. Remember how to use it?" He asked her handing her his gun

"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed."

"Here, got a spare. Take it." Daryl told her handing one to her

* * *

"So this is it? This the whole plan?" Carol asked stopping to rest on a fallen tree

"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups." Daryl tells her as I take a drink of water

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks. I see you have a gun." Andrea says to Lori

"Why, you want it? Here, take it." She tells her handing the gun over, "I'm sick of the looks you're giving me. All of you." She says sitting down on the same tree, "Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through. And I would do anything to stop it. But you have got to stop blaming Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him. When Sophia ran he didn't hesitate, did he? Not for a second. I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way he did" Lori said to her, "Or made the hard decisions that he has had to make or that anybody could have done it any differently. Anybody? If you think you can do this without him, go right ahead. Nobody is stopping you." Lori tells us then took a drink

Andrea handed the gun back to her, "We should keep moving"

* * *

"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asked and I look to see Lori looking behind us

"It was a gunshot."

"We all heard it." Daryl pointed out

"Why one- Why just one gunshot?" Lori asked

"Maybe they took down a walker." He told her

"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker, or Shane. They'd do it quietly."

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked

"There's nothing we can do about it, anyway. Can't run around these woods chasing echoes." Daryl mentioned

"So, what do we do?" Lori asked him

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Sophia, work our way back to the highway."

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV." Andrea says and looked at Carol, "I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel."

"I suppose you do- Thank you. The thought of her, out here by herself... It's the not knowing that's killin' me. I just keep hopin' and prayin' she doesn't wind up like Amy." Carol said and looked at Andrea, "Oh, God! That's the worst thing I ever said."

"We're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth."

"I'll tell ya what it's worth- Not a damn thing. It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna locate that little girl. She's gonna be just fine. Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord." Daryl tells them and I gave a light chuckle smiling as we continued

"We'll lose the light before too long. I think we should call it." Daryl tells us

"Let's head back." Lori agreed

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Carol asked her

"Yeah, we'll find her tomorrow."

* * *

"How much farther?" Lori asked Daryl as we continued walking

"Not much... Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies."

"Too bad we're not crows." Andrea says and I see her walk into a spider web, "Oh... Oh! As the crow flies, my ass."

Just then we hear her scream, "Andrea?" Carol yelled and we run over to her and see someone ride over on a horse hitting the walker with a bat

"Lori? Lori grimes?"

"I'm Lori." She tells the girl

"Rick sent me- You've got to come now."

"What?" Lori asked

"There's been an accident- Carl's been shot."

"What?" I asked moving up to Lori as my heart sank

"He's still alive but you've gotta come now. Rick needs you- Just come!" The girl says to Lori and she takes off her backpack handing it to me and rushed over to the girl

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse." Daryl tells her but she ignored him getting on the horse

"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?" The girl asked and I looked at a love struck Glenn

"Uh-huh."

"Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox- Name's Greene- Hi-yah!" She urged the horse and they took off, then the walker she hit sat up wheezing

"Shut up." Daryl says shooting it in the head

"Oh my god" I whispered and Daryl moved over to me

"It'll be ok" He says to me and I nodded

* * *

"Shot? What do ya mean shot?"

"I don't know, Dale. I wasn't there. All I know is this chick rode out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." Glenn told him

"You let her?" Dale asked Daryl

"Climbed down out of my asshole, man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's."

"I heard screams- Was that you?" Dale asked Andrea as she walked past him

"She got attacked by a walker. It was a close call." I tell him

"Andrea, are you all right?" He asked her and she looked at him then walked into the RV shutting the door

* * *

"I won't do it. We can't just leave." Carol says to Dale

"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak."

"What if she comes back and we're not here? It could happen." She says and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder

"If Sophia found her way back and we were gone, that would be awful." Andrea agreed

"Okay. We gotta plan for this. I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign, leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV." Daryl pointed out

"If the RV is stayin', I am too." Dale adds

"Thank you. Both of you" She says to them and we look at Andrea.

"I'm in."

"Well, if you're all staying then I'm-"

"Not you, Glenn-" Dale tells him cutting him off, "You're going. Take-take Carol's Cherokee."

"Me? Why is it always me?" Glenn asked him

"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on- But most important, you have to get T-Dog there. This is not an option. That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection. Get him to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics. Because if not, T-Dog will die, no joke."

I see Daryl walk over to his bike and grabbed a rag off it then pulled something out of his satchel, "Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle. Why'd you wait till now to say anything? Got my brother's stash. Crystal, x- Don't need that. Got some kick ass painkillers. Doxycycline. Not the generic stuff neither. It's first class. Merle got the clap on occasion." He says and I just shook my head

"Don't worry, I'll go with you" I told Glenn and they looked at me, "I need to be there, for Rick. Lori"

"Ok" Glenn says and I see Daryl look at me

* * *

"So do we ring the bell? I mean it looks like people live here." Glenn says as we arrive at the house and walk up the steps

"We're past this kind of stuff, aren't we? Having to be considerate." T-Dog says

"Did you close the gate up the road when you drove in?" The girl that we saw on the horse asked and we see her sitting on a chair on the porch

"Uh, hi. Yes, we closed it. Did the latch and everything." Glenn tells her and I looked between them, "Hello. Nice to see you again. We met before briefly."

"Look, we came to help. There anything we can do?" T-Dog asked then groaned and the girl looked at his arm, "It's not a bite. I cut myself pretty bad though."

"We'll have it looked at. I'll tell them you're here."

"We have some painkillers and antibiotics. I already gave him some. If Carl needs any." I tell her handing the medicine Daryl gave us to her

"Come on inside. I'll make you something to eat." She tells us and we head inside to the room Carl was in and once I saw him laying on the bed I gasped, Lori looked up at me and came over pulling me into a hug

"Hey" Glenn says to Rick

"Hey"

"Um, we're here, okay?" Glenn tells him

"Thank you."

"Whatever you need." I said to Lori and she nodded, I walked over to Rick and hugged him then looked at Carl, Rick put his hand on my back and I looked at him, he nodded and I bent down kissing Carl on the head, "Hang in there buddy" I whispered and we walked out

* * *

I was sitting in the hallway with Lori and Rick when we hear Carl coughing, we rushed in and Lori kneels down by the bed as he looked around scared, "Where are we?"

"Hey, little man. That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident. All right?" Rick tells him

"It hurts, a lot."

"Oh baby, I know. I know." Lori comforted

"You should have seen it." He says

"What buddy?" I asked sitting on the bed looking at him

"The deer. It was so pretty, mom." He says looking at her and I smiled, "It was so close. I've never been..." he stops talking and doesn't move,

"Carl?" I asked standing up

"What is happening?" Lori asked then suddenly he started jerking around on the bed, me and Rick went to hold him but Hershel stopped us

"Don't. It's a seizure. If you hold him down, you could hurt him."

"You can't stop it?" Lori asked him

"He has to just go through it." He says and Rick pulled Lori to him as she cried and I put my hand over my mouth fighting back my on tears when suddenly he stops

"Carl?" I asked moving over to Rick

"His brain isn't getting enough blood. His pressure is bottoming. He needs another transfusion." Hershel told us

"Okay, I'm ready." Rick told him

"If I take any more out of you your body could shut down. You could go into a coma. Or cardiac arrest."

"You're wasting time." Rick says and sat down holding out his arm, Hershel grabbed his equipment and started the transfusion.

"I need a minute" I said and walked out onto the porch, I got to the bottom step and sat down, I feel it hit me and I break down. I held it in for so long at this point but seeing my nephew this way it...I was scared, I would do anything for that boy.

* * *

"He's still losing blood faster than we can replace it. And with the swelling in his abdomen we can't wait any longer or he's just going to slip away." Hershel says to us as I stood in the corner of the room by the window, "Now I need to know right now if you want me to do this, because I think your boy is out of time. You have to make a choice."

"A choice?" Lori asked him

"A choice." Rick says and looked at her, "You have to tell me what it is. You have to tell me what it is."

"We do it." She says and Rick hugged her

"Okay, get the corner of that bed. Let's get the sheets down." Hershel says to us after Patricia bring a metal table into the room then both me and Lori help with the bed, "Get the I.V. bag on the sheet." Rick sets it down and we grab the blanket, "Okay, on three. One, two, three." Hershel says and we lift Carl onto the table, "Rick, Lori, Kate you may want to step out." Hershel tells us and we hear a truck approaching

"Oh God." Rick said looking out then rushed out of the room and I followed him with Lori

"Carl?" Shane asked getting out of the truck and i noticed he was limping and he hands Hershel the bags he had

"There's still a chance." Rick told him

"Otis?" Hershel asked him

"No." Shane says and looked down

"We say nothing to Patricia. Not till after. I need her." Hershel said and went into the house then Rick hugged Shane

"They kept blocking us at every turn. We had nothing left. We were down to 10 rounds. Then he said... he said he'd cover me and that I should keep going. So that's what I did. I just... I kept going. But I... I looked back and he... I tried. He wanted to make it right." Shane tells us and I looked at him, something didn't seem right.

* * *

As I stood there on the porch with Rick and Lori with Shane sitting by the truck I kept looking at him then Hershel came out, "He seems to have stabilized" He tells us and I sighed in relief then Rick hugged me and I cried into his shoulder then he hugged Hershel.

"I don't have words." Lori tells Hershel after I hugged her

"I don't either. Wish I did. How do I tell Patricia about Otis?" He asked and Rick looked at Lori

"You go to Carl. I'll go with Hershel."

She nodded then looked at me, "Come on" She says and we both head inside and look in the kitchen seeing Rick and Hershel with Patricia, she started to cry and I put my hand on Lori's shoulder then we head to the bedroom. Lori is sitting in the chair by the bed and I'm sitting on the bed next to him holding his hand as happy tears fall out of my eyes when she looked behind me and I turned to see Shane standing there hesitating

"Stay" I tell him and he looked at me then I looked back at Carl

I left the room after a while and asked Maggie where Shane was, she pointed upstairs and I walked up there. I hear the shower turn off as I leaned against the wall waiting then the door opened, I saw him walk out and looked at him confused seeing that he shaved his head, "What?"

"Nothing, I just.." I said and walked over to him pulling him into a hug, "Thank you" I tell him and he hugged me back then looked at me, he leaned forward and kissed me but I pulled away, "Shane...don't" I said and walked away

* * *

As we gather up rocks for Otis's grave I hear vehicles coming down the driveway along with Daryl's motorcycle so we made our way to the house, the others get out of the vehicles and I look at Daryl as he got off his bike

"How is he?" Dale asked us

"He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people." Lori answered

"And Shane. We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Rick added and Dale moved over and hugged him and I see Daryl look at me then Shane

"Thank God. We were so worried." Carol says hugging Lori

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked

"Hunting accident. That's all... Just a stupid accident." Rick replied

* * *

We all stand by the grave for Otis, "Blessed be God, father of our lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in Grace." Hershel finished and looked at Shane "Shane, will you speak for Otis?" He asked him

"I'm not good at it. I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." Patricia tells him crying

"Okay. We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. "We've got to save the boy." See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. "Run," he said. He said, "I'll take the rear. I'll cover you." And when I looked back... If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his." Shane says and I look at him, seeing him shift and avoid eye contact, he was hiding something.

* * *

"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked Rick as we gathered around the hood of Carol's jeep and Maggie walked over with a map

"This'll be day three."

"County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations." She tells us placing it on the hood

"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams." Rick tells us

"Not you. Not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." He tells Rick then looked at Shane, "And your ankle... Push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody."

"Guess it's just me. I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." Daryl says

"I'll join you" I tell him and he looked at me

"No, I got it" He says not looking at me and I scoffed inward then looked back at the map

"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane mentioned

"All right, tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Shane says

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." Hershel tells him

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here..."

"Look, we're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick said cutting Shane off and he put his gun on the car, Shane sighed and put his on there as well, I grabbed mine putting it on the hood as well, "First things first: Set camp, find Sophia."

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that." He brought up

"You do what has to be done." Rick says

"And her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie asked him

"The truth."

"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site" Shane tells us, "I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience." Shane says to Hershel

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick agreed and Hershel hesitated then nodded, "Thank you." Rick says then me, Shane and Daryl walked away

"Hey" I said stopping Daryl and he looked at me, "You ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

I sighed and looked at him, "Never mind." I tell him and walked away

"I hear he woke up." I hear Shane say stopping me and I looked at him

"Yeah. He's in and out, but yeah. He'll be all right."

"That's good." He says and I start to walk away again, "Did you mean it?"

"What?" I asked him looking at him again

"You said stay. Did you mean it?" He asked and I sighed, "Look, if you didn't just say so. But do it now. I need to know."

"I meant it."

"All right then." He says and I see Daryl looking over at us then I see him scoff and look away as Shane walked away.

* * *

"Looks like we've got us a swimmer." Dale informed us as we walk over and see a walker in the well

"How long you think it has been down there?" Glenn asked

"Long enough to grow gills." Andrea answered

"We can't leave it in there. God knows what it's doing to the water." Lori points out

"We got to get it out." Rick adds

"Easy. Put a bullet in its head. I'll get a rope." T-Dog says

"Whoa whoa, guys. No." Maggie tells them

"Why not? It's a good plan." Glenn asked her

"It's a stupid plan. If that thing hasn't contaminated the water yet, blowing its brains out will finish the job." I mentioned

"She's right. Can't risk it." Shane agreed

"So it has to come out alive?" T-Dog asked him

"So to speak."

"How do we do that?" Glenn asked as well

* * *

"He's not going for it." Dale points out to Shane as he lowers a piece of ham into the well

"Maybe 'cause a canned ham don't kick and scream when you try to eat it." T-Dog mentioned and I snorted a little

"He's right. There's a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding our cupboards." Lori says

"We need live bait." Andrea added and looked at Glenn and he realized where she was going

"Have I mentioned that I really like your new haircut? You have a nice shaped head." Glenn tells Shane as he ties a rope around Glenn's waist

"Don't worry about it, bud. We're gonna get you out of here in one piece."

"Living piece. That living part is important." Glenn mentioned and we all grab the rope, "Nice and slow, please."

"We got you." I reassured him

"Oh, you people are crazy." Maggie tells us and I look at her

"You have no idea"

"You want to get it out of your well or not?" Shane asked her

"Give us an eye there, Maggie." Dale says to her and she moved to the well as Glenn goes in

"Little lower. Little more." Maggie tells us then suddenly the pump breaks and the rope slips, Shane and T-Dog make a dive for it trying to catch it

"Get me out of here!" I hear Glenn shout from the well as we all hold on to the pump and pull, "Get it off. Get off. Get off! Get me out! Oh my God. Oh my God. Guys, get me out! Come on, you guys. Get me out! Oh God. Oh God. Oh my God! Get me out of here!"

"Pull! Pull! Pull! Pull! Pull! Let's go, pull." we all shout as Shane starts pulling on the rope with T-Dog's help then we see Glenn grab the edge and climb out and we all rush over to him

"Are you okay?" I asked him checking for bites

"Back to the drawing board." Dale points out and Glenn stands up

"Says you." He hands him the rope and walked away, we look in and see the rope around the walkers neck

* * *

"Come on, guys, pull." T-Dog tells us as we try to pull on the rope

"Come on, y'all." Shane adds

"Watch out, Sam." Shane tells me as I stand at the top of the well and the walker comes out and I back up

"Nice and easy. Just a little more." I tell them but the walker stops, "It's stuck! Come on."

"Come on, pull!" T-Dog urged but I see the walker start to split and the bottom half falls back into the well

"We should seal off this well." Dale says

"Yeah, might be a good idea." Shane agrees

"So what do we do about..." Andrea starts to say but I see T-Dog beat the walkers head with a pipe

"Good thing we didn't do anything stupid like shoot it." I hear T-Dog say and he dropped the pipe

* * *

I saw Daryl walk out of the RV while I stood by my tent and he walked over to his, "Daryl" He looked at me, "Can we talk?"

"Bout what?" He asked

"Why you've been avoiding me."

He looked at me and shrugged, "Didn't think I was."

"You have, since..." I paused and looked at him, "Since that thing that happened after the CDC blew up" I tell him and he looked at me, "Look I just want to know if it was a heat of the moment thing and you didn't mean it or what."

He looked at me then I see him look over at Shane who was watching us then he looked back at me as Shane walked away, "I don't know, I guess I meant it" He says and I feel my heart race

"You guess?" I asked, _Damn it woman don't question it_

"Yeah. Why? That not good enough?"

"No, it is I just..." I sighed, "So why haven't you really talked to me? I mean I don;t want to push you but I guess I'm just confused."

"'Cause of Shane, and Rick"

"What about them?" I asked, "There's nothing between me and Shane anymore and Rick may be my brother but he doesn't run my life or have a say in who I want to be with."

"Let me ask you something then. What do you want?" He asked and I was taken by surprise at the question

I looked down at the ground, "You" I said quietly

"What?" He asked me and I looked up at him

"You. I have for a while now and when you kissed me I felt.." I was cut off when he moved over to me and put his hands on my face, I looked into his eyes and just as he was about to kiss me I hear Rick call for me and I sighed, "I better see what he wants." I tell him and he nodded, "Talk later?" I asked him

"Mmhm" He grumbled then walked away

"I'm gonna kill my brother" I said under my breath and walked over to him.

"Carl asked for you" Rick says as I walked over to him and I smiled walking past him into the house to the bedroom

"Hey buddy" I said walking over to the bed and sat down next to him, "How are you doing?"

"It still kind of hurts."

"It'll get better." I tell him and looked at Rick's Sheriffs hat that was sitting on the bed, "Wow, your dad gave you the hat huh?" I asked and he smiled

"Yeah, because I'm in the club now"

I chuckled, "Well I'm jealous, wish I could be in the club"

"Aunt Kate, would you stay with me?" He asked me and I smiled at him

"Of course buddy" I told him and I laid in bed next to him and we snuggled then eventually he fell asleep and I couldn't fight it anymore and I fell asleep too.


	4. Chapter 4

**We are the Walking Dead**

 _ **Flashback...**_

We sat there in traffic at night and I watched Carl play checkers with a little girl named Sophia who was with her mom and dad as helicopters passed over, "Are we gonna go soon?" Sophia asked her mom Carol

"I don't know, baby. I sure hope so."

"I'm hungry." Carl tells Lori

"I know, Carl. We all are."

"Why don't I get him something to eat? Ed's into all this survival stuff. We've got enough MREs to feed a small army." Carol tells her and started to walk around their jeep

"I'd sure appreciate it."

"No trouble." Carol told her and I put my hand on Lori's shoulder

"You ok?" I asked her and she shook her head, "Me neither"

"You getting anything?" Lori asked Shane as he sat in he car fiddling with the radio

"There's nothing."

"Big surprise there." I point out

"No, I mean there's nothing. Emergency broadcast system stopped, and that recording about the refugee center. It's all gone." He says getting out, "I'm gonna go up the road, see what I can see."

"I'll come with you." I tell him and start to follow

"Ed must have forgot to pack those MREs. I found these in my purse." Carol said to Lori and I turned to look at them

"It's all right. Listen, do you mind keeping an eye on Carl for a minute?" Lori asked her

"No."

"Shane, Kate and I are gonna go scout up ahead a little bit and see if we can find someone that knows what's going on." Lori tells Carl and I walk back over

"I want to come with you."

"Huh-uh. Huh-uh." She says and Shane walked up to him

"Hey, we'll be back before you know it. Okay, little man, huh?" Shane asked him and I ruffled Carl's hair, he smiled at me and we started to walk up the road

"Why would they stop broadcasting about the refugee center?" I asked as we made our way through the cars

"I don't know." Shane answered

"Think they're turning people away?" Lori asked

"They're gonna have a riot on their hands if they try." He says and I hear an explosion in the distance then we make our way past a couple of guys who were fighting

"What do we do?" Lori asked Shane

"Come here. We're gonna do what Rick would have wanted us to do, get you, Kate and Carl out of here." Shane tells her and we stop when helicopters flew over us and I looked forward seeing red flashes behind a bunch of smoke

"That's not lightning." I point out and Shane grabbed my hand

"You both stay with me now. Come on." He tells us and we made our way through the woods, I helped Lori down the hill and we stopped seeing the helicopters drop something in the city and there's more explosions

"Oh my God." Lori says and I grabbed her hand

"They're dropping napalm in the streets." Shane says and I stare in disbelief

"Shane." I whispered and he pulled me to him

"Come here."

 _ **Now...**_

"Alright everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far." Rick tells us as we gather around the hood of Carol's car

"I'd like to help. I know the area pretty well and stuff." Jimmy told him

"Hershel's okay with this?"

"Yeah yeah. He said I should ask you." He replied

"All right then. Thanks."

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse." Shane says

"Anybody includes her, right?" I asked him

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high." Daryl pointed out

"It's a good lead." I add

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." Rick mentioned

"No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here, take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her." Daryl mentioned

"I'll head to the highway and see if she went there at all then double back to the woods and look around." I told Rick and Daryl looked at me

"By yourself? You sure?" Rick asked me

"I'll take T-Dog."

"Good idea. Maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there too." T-Dog told Daryl and I chuckled

"Chupacabra?" Rick asked

"You never heard this? Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra." I tell him and Jimmy laughed

"What are you braying at, jackass?" Daryl asked him

"You believe in a blood-sucking dog?"

"Do you believe dead people walking around?" Daryl asks and I lightly smack his arm

I see Jimmy reach for a gun and Rick quickly pulled it away, "Hey hey. Ever fire one before?"

"Well, if I'm going out, I want one." Jimmy says

"Yeah, and people in hell want slurpees." Daryl tells him putting his crossbow over his shoulder and I shook my head putting my gun in it's holster and followed him

"Don't be rude" I said to him as we walked to the stables

"How's Carl?" He asked changing the subject

"He's doing good, might be able to get out the house here soon"

"Good" He says and started to saddle up a horse.

"Well, be careful out there" I tell him and started to walk away but I feel him grab my hand and I turned to look at him, "What?"

"Just wanna do this" He says and pulled me to him into a kiss and at first I tensed then began to kiss him back. This one was different then the one at the CDC, it felt more passionate and not just in a heat of the moment thing.

"Well then" I said after we broke apart, "That was...unexpected"

He gave a small chuckle, "Didn't get a chance to do it yesterday."

"You asked me yesterday what I want, what do you want Daryl?" I asked him and he pulled me back to him.

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked and I smiled then kissed him again, "I better get going"

"Be safe" I tell him again and he nodded then got on the horse as I headed back to the others

"What's going on with you two?" I hear Rick ask and I turn around startled

"Jesus Rick. Little warning next time" I tell him and he walked over

"Sorry. Something going on with you and Daryl?"

"Is it a bad thing if there was?" I asked him and he looked down

"Kate.."

"Yes, something is just starting with us. Is that bad?" I asked and he looked at me

"What about Shane?"

"What about him?" I ask, "Nothing has been going on with me and Shane for a while now. And there never will again" I tell him and he moved closer to me

"Did he do something to you?" He asked and I sighed

"No. We just..we aren't meant for each other" I tell him and walked away

"Kate." Rick says and I look at him, "For what it's worth, if you're happy, that's all that matters to me."

"Thanks Rick"

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I was riding through the woods on one of Hershel's horses, I didn't even ask if I could use one, I just saddled it up and took off. After I shot a squirrel and pulled it off the tree my mind went to Kate, she was the most beautiful woman I laid my eyes on, I don't why I am able to open up to her, but the first day we talked I felt like I could, she sparked something in me and I will do what I can to show her what she means to me and try to protect her, especially from that prick who thought forcing himself on her was the way to go. I know about their history, it bothered me how he still held on to her when she clearly doesn't want anything to do with him. I was taken out of my thoughts when I looked down the ridge and saw a doll down by the water, I hopped off the horse then took my crossbow off and made my way down over to it and picked it up, "Sophia!" I called but got nothing so I made my way back up and got on the horse. Some birds flew up from the ground and the horse started to spook, "Whoa. Easy easy." I tell it and ushered it to move again but suddenly and snake popped up from the ground scaring the horse and it started bucking, "Whoa whoa whoa." I said but next thing I knew I got flung off rolling down the ridge and sliding down the little water fall. I laid there trying not to move as one of my handmade bolts was stuck in my side, "Son of a bitch."

I managed to get up and made my way over to the sand taking out my knife and cutting the sleeves of my shirt off tying them together then tying it around my waist and around the arrow, fuck it hurt like hell. I looked up the ridge, I had a hell of a climb to go, I held my side and stood up grabbing a stick to support myself but then I hear a rustling sound from next to me in the woods, I reached behind me for my crossbow but realized it wasn't there so I made my way back over to the water using the stick to look for it, I finally found it and lifted it out of the water. I made my way out of the water again and stood at the base of the ridge then started climbing.

I looked down at one point seeing how high up I was then looked up, "Oh, come on. You've done half. Stop being such a pussy. Come on." I told myself then I pushed myself to grab hold of another tree but my foot slid a little on the dirt, I tried again but lost my footing and started to roll down the hill landing back at the bottom of the ridge knocking myself out.

"Why don't you pull that arrow out, dummy? You could bind your wound better." I hear my brother's voice tell me as I came to

"Merle."

"What's going on here? You taking a siesta or something?" He asked

"A shitty day, bro."

"Like me to get your pillow? Maybe rub your feet?" He asks

"Screw you."

"Huh-uh. You're the one screwed from the looks of it. All them years I spent trying to make a man of you, this is what I get? Look at you. Lying in the dirt like a used rubber. You're gonna die out here, brother. And for what?" He asked me

"A girl. They lost a little girl." I tell him

"So you got a thing for little girls now? Or are you doing this for someone else?"

"Shut up." I said

"'Cause I noticed you ain't out looking for old Merle no more."

"Tried like hell to find you, bro." I pointed out

"Like hell you did. You split, man. Lit out first chance you got."

"You lit out. All you had to do was wait. We went back for you. Rick and I, we did right by you." I argued

"This the same Rick that cuffed me to the rooftop in the first place? Forced me to cut off my own hand? This him we're talking about here? You his bitch now? Or his sisters?" He asked me

"I ain't nobody's bitch."

"You're a joke is what you are, playing errand boy to a bunch of pansy-asses, niggers and democrats. You're nothing but a freak to them. Redneck trash. That's all you are. They're laughing at you behind your back. You know that, don't you? That girl you are so hooked on, that Shane guy is gonna get her back, you know it's true. I got a little news for you, son. One day they gonna scrape you off their heels like you was dog shit." He says and I start to drift off again but he smacked my chest, "Hey. They ain't your kin, your blood. Hell, you had any damn nuts in that sack of yours, you'd got back there and shoot your pal Rick in the face for me. Now you listen to me. Ain't nobody ever gonna care about you except me, little brother. Come on, get up on your feet before I have to kick your teeth in." He stands up and kicked my foot then grabbed it, "Let's go."

He continued pulling on my foot but when I came to I see a walker trying to bite at my foot through my boot, I scrambled and kicked it in the head, as I reached for my crossbow it landed on me and I hit it in the side a few times then the face and rolled both of us over, it grabbed at my head rolling us back and I kicked it off then stood up seeing another one coming, I hit the one in front on me with a long stick knocking it back then I tackled it to the ground and smashed his head with the stick. As the other one gets closer I grab the arrow in my side pulling it out the front trying to ignore the pain, grabbed my crossbow, knocked the arrow and shot it in the head.

I sat at the bottom of the ridge taking my top shirt off, folded it and pressed it to the wound then tied it , "Son of a bitch was right." I said and moved to a log sitting down then cutting the squirrel open and started to eat the raw meat. I grabbed the doll, took the strings out of my boots, then cut the ears off the walkers putting them on the string then around my neck looking up at the ridge and started to climb again. I need to get back there, keep that asshole away from my girl.

I hear some birds squawk and I look up, "Please, don't feed the birds." I hear Merle's voice again and I see him at the top, "What's the matter, Darylina? That all you got in you? Throw away that purse and climb."

"I liked it better when you was missing."

"Come on, don't be like that. I'm on your side." He tells me as I grab a tree and brace myself to push up

"Yeah? Since when?"

"Hell, since the day you were born, baby brother. Somebody had to look after your worthless ass." He says and I scoffed

"You never took care of me. You talk a big game but you was never there. Hell, you ain't here now. Guess some things never change."

"I'll tell you what- I'm as real as your chupacabra." He mentioned

"I know what I saw."

"And I'm sure them shrooms you ate had nothing to do with it, right?" He asked me

"You'd best shut the hell up." I warned him

"Or what? You're gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me?" He asked and I continued to climb, "Well, come on and do it then, if you think you're man enough. Hey, kick off them damn high heels and climb, son." He says and laughed, "You know what? If I were you I'd take a pause for the cause, brother. 'Cause I just don't think you're gonna make it to the top." He tells me and I swung myself around a small tree, "Come on. Come on, little brother. Grab your friend Rick's hand."

I put my hand on the top of the ridge and pulled myself up, "Yeah, you'd better run."

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

"Walker. Walker!" I hear Andrea yell from the top of the RV and we all grab our weapons

"Just the one?" Rick asked her

"I bet I can nail it from here."

"No no, Andrea. Put the gun down." He tells her

"You'd best let us handle this." Shane says walking over

"Shane, hold up. Hershel wants to deal with walkers." Rick tells him

"What for, man? We got it covered."

We make our way into the field with Rick following us shortly after

"Is that Daryl?" Glenn asked and I feel my heart stop as he looked at us stopping while Rick pointed his gun at him

"That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head. You gonna pull the trigger or what?" Daryl asked and I sighed in relief but just then there's a gun shot and he falls to the ground

"No! No! No!" Rick yelled at Andrea as I knelt down next to him panicking

"Daryl? Daryl?" I asked holding his head and he moved

"I'm okay" He says and I sighed, "I was kidding" He said to Rick and both him and Shane helped him to walk as Andrea and Dale ran over

"Oh my God. Oh my God, is he dead?"

"Unconscious. You just grazed him." Rick told her

"But look at him. What the hell happened? He's wearing ears." Glenn pointed out and Rick took them off and put them in his pocket

"Let's keep that to ourselves."

"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" T-Dog asked and I turned to see him holding Sophia's doll

* * *

"I found it washed up on the creek bed right there. She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere." Daryl informed us as Hershel stitched up his arrow wound and they looked at the map

"Cuts the grid almost in half." Rick mentioned looking at Shane

"Yeah, you're welcome."

"How's he looking?" I asked Hershel

"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly. Any idea what happened to my horse?" Hershel asked him moving to a wash bucket to clean his hands

"Yeah, the one who almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country."

"We call that one Nelly, as in nervous Nelly. I could have told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask. It's a wonder you people have survived this long." Hershel tells Rick, him and Shane walked out of the room and I looked at Daryl

"I'll be right back" I tell him and he nodded then I walked out as well

"I hate to say it, but I'm with Hershel on this one. Can't keep going out there, not after this." Shane brought up and I looked at him

"You'd quit now? Daryl just risked his life to bring back the first hard evidence we've had." I told him

"That is one way to look at it. The way I see it, Daryl almost died today for a doll."

"Yeah, I know how you see it." Rick tells him and walked away

"I'm not out to be a hard case. Just being realistic." Shane adds

"We're not stopping until we find her so get that through your damn head." I told him and walked out of the house.

* * *

After I helped clean everything up after dinner I headed to the room Daryl was in, "How are you feeling?" I asked him standing by the door after I shut it

"Like I got thrown off a horse"

"Well next time maybe you should stay on" I joked and he scoffed, "Don't scoff at me mister"

He rolled slightly over and looked at me, "Or what?"

"I won't kiss you for a week" I tell him sitting down next to him

"Don't make threats you can't keep"

"Who says I can't keep it?" I asked him leaning closer and bit my lip

"I'll make it impossible for you to resist" He says leaning up to me so that we were close enough for me to feel his breath on my lips and I felt chills go down my spine as my heart raced.

"I think I can handle it" I said and he moved closer brushing his lips lightly against mine

"Are you sure?"

"Mmhm" I managed to say and he chuckled pulling away, "You're mean" I pouted and he leaned back up and kissed me

"Don't threaten me again."

I kissed him again, "Need anything?"

"Would you stay here?" He asked and I looked at him in shock

"Yeah, let me just go grab some clothes first. Should I grab you some?" I asked and he nodded, "I'll be back" I said and walked out of the house heading to my tent

"Kate" I hear Shane say and I sighed then looked at him

"What?"

"What's going on with you and Daryl?" He asked me and I rolled my eyes

"I told you, it's none of your business" I said walking into my tent but he followed, "Wat the hell Shane?"

"If you're doing this to make me jealous you've done it"

"You think I'm trying to make you jealous? Open your eyes Shane, I don't want you, I don't want to be with you, and I sure as hell don't love you. Not everything is about you" I tell him and went to move past him but he grabbed my arm stopping me and I looked at him

"You should stop trying to deny it Kate, a part of you will always want me" He said and I pulled my arm away

"Never" I said and walked out of the tent to Daryl's grabbing some clothes and headed back into the house to the room quickly closing the door

"Kate?" I hear Daryl ask and I sighed then looked at him

"I'm fine"

"Kate?" He asked again

"It's just I...I ran into Shane"

"Come here" He says and I put the clothes on the chair in the room then sat next to him, "I'm not gonna let that prick do anything to you again. Promise" I gave him a small smile then kissed him

"I'm gonna go change" I tell him and grabbed my clothes walking into the bathroom, changed then walked back into the room and Daryl moved over so I could lay down next to him and he put his arm around me, I was careful to not hurt him and we looked at each other, "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything?"

"Why do you open up so easily to me?" I asked

"Don't know, I guess maybe it's because you don't judge me, you see who I am."

"I never would, you're no different then any of us." I smiled and he chuckled

"You know, when this all started I saw you on the highway" He says and I looked at him confused

"What?"

"Mhmm. I saw you standing there with Lori, Carl and Shane." He said

"Huh, interesting"

"I never thought I would see such a beautiful woman in my life" He says and I giggled

"Oh stop it"

"No, it's true. You know what I thought about while I was out there today?" He asked and I shrugged, "You, wanting to get back to you so I could kiss you again, be here with you."

"Is rough and tough Daryl Dixon being sweet on me?" I asked batting my eyes and he scoffed

"You're my girl now, I'll be as sweet as I want." He told me and I kissed him which he deepened

"Before we go any further I think you should heal first." I tell him and he ran his hand down to my waist to where my shirt was up a bit and his finger lightly brushed my skin, and that small touch was enough to send shock waves through my body

"I can think of something else we can do" He said and I couldn't form a sentence, my breath started to come out heavy as I closed my eyes. His hand moved so it rested on my stomach, playing with the hem of my shorts.

His hand slid into my shorts, running over my underwear as he rubbed me through the material. I moaned, moving my hips against his hand.

"Daryl." I breathed, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

He groaned, his finger moving faster but not moving the offending material. "Hardly touched ya and you're already so wet." His voice turned me on more the way he spoke to me. I moaned, grinding myself against him hard.

He grinned as his lips moved to my neck where he sucked on my skin probably leaving another mark, his fingers pushed my underwear to the side before he rubbed the throbbing nub.

I groaned, pulling him closer at the contact. "God, Daryl!" I quietly screamed

His lips molded with mine, kissing me gently but urgently. "Shh. Can't have anyone hearing us" I nodded, trying to keep my moans down.

He slipped in a finger, and I nearly screamed at how good it felt. He pumped it in and out, curling his finger. He hit the spot that made my body shake with pleasure as I groaned against his lips. When he slid in a second finger I couldn't help but bite his lip and he growled, it was more pleasurable than painful. His tongue pushed into my mouth where it tangled with mine. He pulled back, panting as he moved his fingers harder. "Wish I was inside you right now. Make you scream my name if no one was 'round." His fingers kept rubbing against that spot, I bit my lip trying to stifle the screams of pleasure coming from my orgasm. When I came down from the orgasm I couldn't help but smile up at him, then kissed him, "You okay?" he asked, kissing my forehead and sliding his hand out of my shorts.

"I'm better then ok." I panted and he kissed me again

"We should get some sleep" He says and I nodded then laid my head on his chest listening to his heartbeat and I fell asleep.

* * *

After I helped get Daryl settled in his tent I went and helped Lori and Carl feed the chickens, "Don't look so worried." Carl tells her

"It's my job."

"No, it's not. You're a housewife." He says and I snorted

"Yeah, punk?" She laughed throwing seed at him, "You see my house around here? A housewife." She says and looked at me, I just shrugged with a smile as Patricia walked into the the cope

"They don't have a mother." Carl pointed out looking at the chickens

"She might be somewhere else." I told him throwing some seed

"Maybe she got eaten. Everything is food for something else."

"Morbid much?" I asked him with a smile and he giggled then I see Shane looking over at me, I ignored him and continued feeding the chickens

* * *

"Hey want a peach or some jerky?" I asked Daryl standing at the entrance to his tent

"You know what I want." He says with a smirk

"Shush you" I said with a smirk and walked away, "Hey Glenn"

"Hey Kate" He greeted and I grabbed a peach for me and some jerky for Daryl then looked at him

"You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah w-why wouldn't I be ok?" He asked nervously

"Ok then" I tell him and walked back to Daryl's tent giving him the jerky and a kiss then met up with Rick and Shane

"The creek flows south, past that farmhouse Daryl found. Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there, the current brought it downstream." Rick pointed out as we looked at the map

"So what, you think she took this road here and then she went north?" I asked him

"Yeah. What's up that way?" Rick asked Jimmy

"A housing development. It went in maybe 10 years ago."

"Take a run up there after gun practice. I'll hold down the fort here, but take backup. After what went down with Daryl, I don't want anyone going out alone. We stay in pairs." Rick says to Shane

"I'll take suggestions on a partner." Shane told him and looked at me but I stared down at the map

"See how they do on the range, then take your pick." Rick says as Glenn walked over with the peaches, "Thanks."

Glenn walked over giving one to Jimmy and I saw him look at Rick and Shane, "My binoculars." Shane says to him and he put the basket down

"Yeah yeah. Okay, bye." He walked away and I shrugged at Rick then Patricia and Beth walked over

"We'd like to join you for gun training today." Beth says to Rick

"Hershel's been very clear. I can't involve any of you in what we do without his okay."

"He doesn't like it, but he consented." She adds

"Otis was the only one who knew guns. Now that he's gone, we gotta learn to protect ourselves. Her father saw the sense in that." Patricia pointed out

"No offense, but I'll ask Hershel myself."

I headed to my tent and grabbed my bag after getting my gun from Dale then walked over to Daryl's tent, "Hey I'm heading out"

"Come here" He says and I walked over kneeling down next to his cot, "Be safe"

"Always am" I tell him and he pulled me into a passionate kiss, "You're not making it easy to leave when you do that."

"I know"

I gave him a quick peck and got up, "Rest, I'll be back" I turned to walk out and felt him slap my butt, "Hey" I smiled pointing my finger at him and he raised his hands and smiled.

* * *

"How the hell did this happen?" Lori asked walking over holding the gun my nephew had

"Well, it's my fault. I let him into the RV. He said he wanted a walkie, that you sent him for one." Dale tells us and pointed at Rick

"So on top of everything else, he lied." Lori says

"What's he thinking?" I asked looking at Carl

"He wants to learn how to shoot. He asked me to teach him. Now it's none of my business, but I'm happy to do it." Shane said and I looked at him, "It's your call."

"I'm not comfortable with it." Lori says and I see the look on Rick's face, "Oh, don't make me out to be the unreasonable one here. Rick?"

"I know. I have my concerns too, but..."

"There's no but. He was just shot. He's just back on his feet and he wants a gun?" She asked

"Better than him being afraid of 'em. There are guns in camp for a reason. He should learn to handle them safely." Rick defended

"I don't want my kid walking around with a gun."

"But how can you defend that? You can't let him go around without protection." Rick told her

"He's as safe as he'll ever be right here. Look, everything you're saying makes perfect sense. It feels wrong. I mean I didn't feel good about him following you out into the woods. And I wish I'd said something. I should've gone with my gut." Lori says

"He's growing up, thank God. We've got to start treating him more like an adult."

"Then he needs to act like one. He's not mature enough to handle a gun." Lori said looking at Carl who got up and walked over standing by me

"I'm not gonna play with it, mom. It's not a toy. I'm sorry I disappointed you, but I want to look for Sophia and I want to defend our camp. I can't do that without a gun." Carl tells her and I put my hand on his shoulder

"Shane's the best instructor I know. I've seen him teach kids younger than Carl." Rick tells her and I look over at Shane as Lori walked over to Carl

"You will take this seriously and you will behave responsibly. And if I hear from anyone in this camp that you're not living up to our expectations..."

"He won't let you down." Rick cut her off

"Now if you're gonna do this, you listen to Shane." Rick told him as we walked over to the vehicles

"Okay, dad."

"All right? You be careful." Rick says

"You coming?" Shane asked Glenn

"I gotta help Dale clean the spark plugs on the RV. He said he's gonna teach me mechanics. I should probably go look for him."

"You found me." Dale said from behind him and I chuckled, "He's a good learner." I smiled at Glenn then feel Shane put his hand on my lower back but I moved away and got into the Cherokee with Rick and we drove off.

* * *

Me, Rick and Shane watched as the others started to shoot at the targets Shane set up and smiled seeing they were doing pretty good

"Hey, come on, man. Don't give me that gangsta shit." I hear T-Dog say to Jimmy and I chuckled then we walked over to Andrea

"Don't be discouraged. You'll hit the target eventually." Shane told her

"Who says I didn't hit my target?" She asked and Shane looked through a pair of binoculars

"Try this one. It's heavy. You get better balance, twice the rounds." He says handin her a different gun and she aimed it up hitting the can, "I'd say she's got the hang of it."

"I'd say she's ready for the advanced class." Rick added and walked over to Andrea, "It might be worth your while after the rest of us head back to camp."

"Sure. Why not?" She tells him and he walked over to me as I stood by Carl and Lori, I see him look at me but I looked back at Carl who was shooting at the target with Rick's help.

* * *

"Hey you" I said peaking my head into Daryl's tent

"Hi" He grumbled looking at a book

I moved over and sat down next to his cot holding two plates of food, "Brought you something to eat" I tell him and he looked at me setting the book down and I handed him the plate

"Thanks"

I took a bite of my food and look at him, "How are you feeling?"

"Gettin' better. How was gun training?"

"Carl did pretty good, so did everyone else." I said and he nodded, "Okay, what's on your mind?" I asked him and he looked at me then set his plate down, he then went to sit up and I quickly put my plate down and helped him up but then he pulled me onto his leg

"Just thinking about you"

"Awe how sweet" I tell him with a smirk

"And Shane" He adds and I look at him confused, "You told me you don't have feelings for him anymore but I can't help but think that he's gonna..."

"Hey," I cut him off and wrapped my arms around his neck, "Nothing and no one will take me away from you, not even Shane. I want you, only you." I tell him and he captured my lips with his and pulled me close to him. Our kiss grew more passionate as he laid me down on his cot then shifted himself hovering over me, "Daryl.."

"I'm fine" He says and continued kissing me moving his lips down my neck lightly biting at the same time, I quietly moaned because the rest of our group was outside walking around.

"Kate?" I hear Lori say from outside and I groaned.

"You better go" Daryl told me and I kissed him again then he moved and I stood up then walked out

"Yeah?" I asked her and she turned to look at me

"Can you help me?" She asked and I nodded then followed her.

* * *

"Hey!" I hear Maggie yell as she stormed over to me and Lori, "We got your stuff."

"Maggie, hang on, please." Glenn yells after her

"Come on in here." Lori told her and I looked at her in confusion

"Why? Nothing to hide. We got your special delivery right here. We got your lotion, got your conditioner, your Soap Opera Digest." Maggie says throwing stuff on the ground and I see something else get thrown on the ground

"Maggie." Lori said

"Next time you want something, get it your damn self. We're not your errand boys."

"Honey, I..." Lori started to say but Maggie picked something us and shoved them against Lori

"And here's your abortion pills." She says and stormed away, Glenn looked at us then followed her

"Lori?" I turned and asked her, she looked at me and I saw tears in her eyes

"Kate I..." She says but I walked away. I couldn't believe she was pregnant, with my brothers baby, my neice or nephew and she wanted to get rid of it.


	5. Chapter 5

**We are the Walking Dead**

 **A/N: I Just want to say thank you to everyone who is enjoying this story so far your kind words mean everything to me. I do hope you are enjoying how I changed Lori and Shane to Kate and Shane. The baby is gonna be Rick's just so you know. Anyways please continue to read and enjoy and if you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know I welcome all advice and criticism.**

The next morning after I got up and got dressed we sat around our camp site while Carol cooked breakfast. I sat in a chair next to Daryl and ate my eggs while Shane looked over at us.

"Um, guys." Glenn says and we all look at him, "So... The barn is full of walkers."

* * *

"You cannot tell me you're all right with this." Shane says to Rick walking back over to us as we stood next to the barn

"No I'm not, but we're guests here. This isn't our land."

"This is our lives!" Shane yells

"Lower your voice." Glenn tells him

"We can't just sweep this under the rug." Andrea pointed out

"It ain't right. Not remotely." T-Dog add

"Okay, we've either got to go in there, we've got to make things right or we've just got to go. Now we have been talking about fort Benning for a long time." Shane said

"We can't go." Rick tells him

"Why, Rick? Why?"

"Because my daughter is still out there." Carol says to him and I put my arm around her shoulder

"Okay. Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility."

"We're not leaving Sophia behind." I tell him

"I'm close to finding this girl. I just found her damn doll two days ago." Daryl argued

"You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll." Shane tells him

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about." Daryl yelled at him and I grabbed his arm and he looked at me

"I'm just saying what needs to be said. You get a good lead, it's in the first 48 hours."

"Shane, stop." I warned him

"Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction." Shane says to him and Daryl broke out of my hand and went to go for him but Rick held him back and they all shouted, I moved in front on Daryl putting my hand on his chest and he looked at me

"Now just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out." Rick says to Shane

"What are you gonna figure out?!"

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land." Rick said

"Hershel sees those things in there as people... Sick people... His wife, his stepson." Dale informed us and we looked at him

"You knew?" Rick asked him

"Yesterday I talked to Hershel."

"And you waited the night?" Shane asked

"I thought we could survive one more night. We did. I was waiting till this morning to say something. But Glenn wanted to be the one."

"The man is crazy, Rick, if Hershel thinks those things are alive or no." Shane shouted and the doors on the barn started to rattle as the walkers pushed on it.

* * *

As I sat down cutting Carrots when Shane walked over and knelt down across from me, "I thought he was dead."

"Shane, I don't..."

"Then when he came back, right then, right there, you see I wished he was." He said and I looked at him, "Because I knew that sooner or later he would be dead. See Rick, he ain't built for this world, not for what it is now."

"You're wrong. You're wrong." I told him

"Kate, how many times has he saved your life? Or Lori's? Or Carl's, I just...I want to know how many times. Because by my count, I've saved your life on four different occasions. And that's Lori and Carl's too. So I just want to ask you, how many times has Rick saved your life?"

"That night at the camp. That night at the camp after the fish fry." I started to say

"No no no. See, no. That was me too. You see, Rick, he showed up late because he went on a suicide mission over nothing. Yeah, he joined in, but see, we wouldn't have been in that situation if he hadn't left because he felt that he needed to leave to save your _boyfriend's_ drug dealer brother." He spat out and I glared at him, "And so we lost Amy and we lost Jim. We lost..." He sighed, "I could've lost you"

"Just stop it Shane, stop" I warned him putting the knife down, "He may have done that but that is who he is, he has a conscience, unlike you and if I told him what you tried to do to me at the CDC your friendship with him, your brotherly bond, would be out the window." I told him and stood up grabbing the bucket of cut up carrots, "And so help me if you even think of trying to justify yourself one more time I will shoot you" I said and walked away.

* * *

"Do you know what's going on?" T-Dog asked Glenn as we joined up with him and Maggie at the house

"Where is everyone?" I asked

"You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn asks

"He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago." Andrea says "Yeah you were. What the hell?" Daryl asked her walking over and standing by me

"Rick told us he was going out." Carol says

"Damn it. Isn't anybody taking this seriously? We got us a damn trail." Daryl says and looked out to the field, "Oh, here we go." We see Shane walking over with the bag of guns, "What's all this?"

"You with me, man?"

"Yeah." Daryl replied taking the rifle

"Time to grow up." Shane says handing me mine, "You already got yours?" He asked Andrea then he handed me mine.

"Yeah. Where's Dale?" She asked him

"He's on his way."

"Thought we couldn't carry." T-Dog says to him as Shane handed him a gun

"We can and we have to. Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't. How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?" He asked Glenn holding up a gun, Glenn hesitated looking at Maggie then grabbed it, "That's it. Can you shoot?" He asked her

"Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

"We have to stay, Shane." Carl tells him

"What is this?" Lori asked walking over

"We ain't going anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He...Well, he's gonna have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right?" He asked Carl kneeling in front of him, "Huh? Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun and do it."

I pushed Carl behind me as walked up to Shane, "Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

"Oh shit." I hear T-Dog say and we looked out at the field seeing Rick, Hershel and Jimmy walking with a couple walkers and Shane took off running with us following

"What is that? What is that? What the hell are you doing?"

"Shane, just back off." Rick told him

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked him

"Are you kidding me? You see? You see what they're holding onto?" Shane asked Hershel

"I see who I'm holding onto."

"No, man, you don't." Shane says

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk." Rick tells him

"What you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead. Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us. Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?" He asked shooting the walker

"No! Stop it!" Rick begged

"That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still coming?" He shoots it again, "That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?" He asked shooting it again

"Shane, enough." Rick said to him

"Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough." He walked over to the walker and shot it in the head, "Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone!" He yells at Carol, "Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough. Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now." He tells us and ran over to the barn and started breaking the locks

"Take the snare pole. Hershel, take the snare pole. Hershel, listen to me, man, please. Take it now. Hershel! Take it!" Rick yells to him, "No, Shane. Do not do this, brother. Wait! Don't do it!"

"Come on. Come on, we're out here." Shane yells at the walkers in the barn and I push Carl back and Lori grabbed him

"Stay behind me" I tell them and looked at Daryl

"This is not the way! Please!" Rick pleaded

Shane stands in front and aimed his gun up as the walkers came out and started shooting them followed by Andrea and T-Dog, "Stay here" I tell Lori and Carl then moved forward shooting them as well then Daryl moved up next to me and started shooting followed by Glenn. We get them all killed and I put my gun down and look at Daryl, then suddenly we hear another growl and the others raised their guns up and my heart stopped when I saw the walker, it was Sophia.

"Sophia? Sophia!" Carol cried but Daryl grabbed her as she ran forward, "Oh Sophia" She cried and I swallowed the lump in my throat trying not to fall over as Sophia looked at us, I see my brother move forward and raise his gun up but hesitated then as Sophia got close to him he fired his gun killing her.

* * *

"Don't look, Don't look" I hear Daryl tell Carol helping her up but she ran away. I looked at Daryl then I hear Beth crying as well and I looked to see her move over to the walkers moving one away bending down to the other, after she rolled it over, it growled and tried grabbing her, Rick, Shane and Maggie moved to pull her away as the others grabbed the walker and started hitting it, I ran over and grabbed a sythe swinging it into the walkers head killing it.

* * *

"They're ready." I tell Carol and Daryl walking into the RV with Lori behind me

"Come on." Daryl says to her

"Why?"

"'Cause that's your little girl." Daryl tells her

"That's not my little girl. That's some other thing. My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought... She didn't cry herself to sleep. She didn't go hungry. She didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago." Carol says and I stepped out of the RV and walked away but stopped and started, I feel a hand on my shoulder and I see Daryl standing there and I wiped away my tears as he pulled me into a hug kissing my head then we made our way to the graves.

* * *

I was walking up to the house when I saw Lori walking out with a map, "Where are you going?"

"We need Hershel, Beth isn't doing good she needs him."

"So you're going by yourself?" I asked her

"I asked Daryl but he wouldn't do it." She tells me and I sighed

"Well I'm not letting you go alone, come on" I tell her going to the passenger side

"Is Daryl gonna be ok with this?"

"I can take care of myself." I point out and we both get in and drive away

I sat in the passenger seat looking out the window when Lori broke the silence, "I'm sorry if I upset you, with the whole being pregnant thing" She says and I look at her

"I was more upset about how you wanted to get rid of it. I know what you must have thought, bringing a baby into this world but it is going to have a lot of people who are going to protect it, especially me. I would do anything to keep Carl safe and I'll do the same for this baby. Unlike some people." I tell her,

"What are you talking about? Who?" She asked and I sighed

"Back at the CDC, after Carol, Sophia and Carl left the rec room Shane um...he was drunk and tried to defend himself for telling us Rick was dead. Then he...um."

"Kate," She says and I look at her, "Did he..."

"No, no, Daryl must have heard me and came in then pulled Shane off of me." I tell her and she grabbed my hand

"I am so sorry"

"It's not your fault Lori, Shane just can't seem to let me go." I said and she sighed

"Have you told Rick?"

"No, and I don't know if I even want him to know, who knows what will happen if he does." I said and she nodded her head then grabbed the map and started to look at it as I looked back out the window when I turned my head seeing a walker in the road, "Lori look out!" I yelled and she hit the brakes, the walker smashed into the windshield and Lori lost control of the car, I grabbed the handle by the window as it crashed and rolled over knocking me out.

* * *

I woke up slowly and saw that I was hanging on my side because the car was on it's side, I looked around and saw Lori out cold next to me, I reached up and grabbed my seat belt trying get down without landing on her. Suddenly I hear something hit the window and I see a walker banging on the glass of the windshield.

"Lori come on wake up" I urged her still holding onto my seat belt then I hear her scream, "Hold on stay calm," I tell her and she looked at me, "Just hold on." I pulled with all my strength and lifted my foot up putting it out the window then pulled again lifting my other foot to the window. I reached down and grabbed my knife out of it's sheath, grabbed the outside of the car then cut my seat belt. I almost fell through but held onto the car and lifted myself out, then I carefully got off the side, grabbed the walker and killed it, "Are you ok?" I asked her

"I-I don't know"

"Okay hold on" I tell her and wiggled my knife into a small gap on the back window then I pulled as hard as I could and the windshield popped out, I crawled in and cut her seat belt, "Here give me your hand, go slow" I tell her and she slowly crawls out with my help, "It's ok I got ya" I finally get her standing.

"Now what?" She asked me and I sighed

"Walk I guess"

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I sat at mine and Kate's camp stoking the fire lost in thought when Carol walked over, "We can't find Lori and the others aren't back yet either."

"Yeah. That dumb bitch must've gone off looking for 'em." I tell her

"What?"

"Yeah, she asked me to go. I told her I was done being an errand boy." I point out

"And you didn't say anything?" She asked me but I stayed quiet, "Don't do this. Please. I've already lost my girl."

"That wasn't my problem neither."

"Kate's missing too" She mentioned and I dropped the stick and looked at her

"I thought she was in the house with you guys."

"No, we haven't seen her since this afternoon" She says and I grabbed my crossbow

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

We continued walking down the road when we hear a car pull up behind us, "You two all right?" Shane asked getting out of the car

"I'm fine." Lori tells him

"You're not fine. I saw the wreck. Let me look at you. Oh." He says looking her over then shined his light up looking in her eye, "What happened?"

"Looked down at the map and hit a Walker."

"Next time stay put, you won't need a map. Come on, I gotta get you both back." He tells us

"No, we gotta find Rick." I say to him

"He's back. They're all back. They're all safe and sound."

"Really?" I asked him

"Yeah."

"Oh thank God." Lori said in relief and we got into the car

* * *

When we get to the house I see everyone walk over to us as I slowly get out, "Oh my God, are you all right? What happened?" Andrea asked us walking up to Lori who was holding a cloth to her head

"I was in an accident. I'm fine, I'm fine."

"She was attacked." Shane points out trying to get her to the house

"I really am. Where's Rick?" She asked and they all looked at each other then us

"They're not back? Where are they?" I asked then looked at Shane

"Look, I had to get you back here..." Shane started to say

"You asshole." I tell him

"Kate."

"He's my brother." I add

"Kate, I will go after him. I will find him. Hey! Now look, first things first...I gotta...I gotta look after you and Lori. I gotta make sure the baby's all right, okay?" He says indicating to Lori and everyone looked at her in shock

"You're having a baby? Why didn't you tell me?" Carl asked from behind the others and Lori just stood there looking at him speechless

"Come on. Let's make sure you're both all right." Dale tells us and I started to follow the into the house

"Kate!" I hear Daryl yell as he ran over to me, "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Daryl, I'm fine" I tell him and he looked at me then Shane

"What were you thinking?"

"I didn't want Lori going out alone, so I went with" I point out and he hugged me

"Don't scare me like that again." He says and I nodded then glared at Shane who was watching us before he went into the house.

* * *

"I am so sorry that I left without telling you." Lori says to Carl as we sit in the house, Daryl sat next to me after he finished wrapping my wrist, I must have sprained it when I pulled myself out of the car.

"It's okay. I wasn't scared." He says and I smile at him, "When's dad getting back?"

"Let's hope soon."

"I wanna be there when you tell him about the baby." Carl tells her

"Oh, love, he already knows. We were just trying to find the right time to tell you."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" He asked

"Well, we won't know that until it's born."

"Will I be able to feel it?" He asks putting his hand on her belly

"Not for a while. You must have a lot of questions, huh? We never had the talk. I guess we forgot." Lori tells him and he looked at Dale

"Don't look at me. That's your father's job."

"If the baby's a girl, can we name her Sophia?" He asked Lori

"Hey, dude." I hear Shane say and I look at him feeling Daryl tense up next to me, "Hey, I'm sorry, bud. Okay? - I thought you knew."

"Big brother Carl. Pretty cool, huh?" Carl asked tipping his hat and I smiled at him

"I say that's very cool. You...you mind if I talk to your aunt a sec?"

"How about a little later after she's had some rest?" Lori asked him glancing at me but he ignored her

"Kate, I had to get you both back here. You wouldn't have come otherwise." Shane says and I stayed quiet, "How about you...how about you just hear me out, please?" He asked and I looked at Lori nodding to her then she and Carl got up and left, I looked at Daryl as he stared at Shane

"It's okay." I whisper to him and he kissed my head then got up walking past Shane giving him a dirty look then walked out

"Okay, Kate, it was a lie. It was one little white lie. But I think that... I think you oughta be thinking about how lucky we are that your sister and her baby are safe."

"You just can't stop lying, can you?" I asked him standing up and walking over to him, "My brother is back safe and sound. My brother is dead in some hospital." I said sarcastically

"Oh, when are you gonna...when are you gonna stop throwing that in my face, huh? I thought that he was..." He sighed "The point here, Kat."

"Don't call me that"

"Is that you cannot keep running off like that. What were you thinking?" He asked me

"I was thinking we needed my brother here to keep us safe."

"Rick? I keep you safe." He defended

"Like you did with Otis?" I asked him and he looked away, "What happened that night? You haven't been the same since."

"You wanna know what happened with Otis? What happened with Otis happened because I love you. I love you" He says and I rolled my eyes, "That's right."

"I told Lori."

"What? You told... you told her what?" He asked me

"About what you did at the CDC, how you tried to.."

"You know, Kate, what we had, it was real." He says and I scoffed

"It was not."

"It was real, Kate. It was you and it was me, it was real. It was right. Don't say it wasn't." He says

"It wasn't." I argued

"Yeah? Just think about what you felt, just for a second. What you fe...what you felt when we were together, before and after everything fell apart all around us, but it... it was a one good thing. And you know it's true." He says moving over to me but I backed up

"I want you to get this through your head. I don't love you, I never will again you can be sure of that. What I have with Daryl is real" I tell him and he scoffed, "It is because unlike you he hasn't lied to me once. I don't want anything to do with you anymore and when Rick gets back I'll tell him what happened, let him deal with you." I finished and walked out of the house.

"You okay?" Lori asked me and I looked at her

"No, but I will be" I said and made my way to the campsite Daryl set up for me and him away from the others. Not that I didn't care about any of them but I didn't want to have watching me and Daryl every time I turned around.

* * *

"Hey" I said walking into the tent

"You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked and he walked over

"Because of him"

I put my hand on his face and smiled, "I'm fine. All he did was try to defend his actions for getting me and Lori back here

"I may hate that prick and I hate that he was the one to bring you back but I'm glad he did. I was worried about you."

"There you go being soft again" I joked and he pulled me to him

"Would you rather have me cold, not expressing how I feel about you?" He asked and I wrapped my arms around his neck

"No, I like seeing this side of you, you're not like how you were back at the quarry."

"I guess you bring it out of me" He says and I kissed him which he deepened pulling me even closer to him and he ran his hands up my side going under my shirt, I moaned into his mouth then he moved his tongue into my mouth, I moaned again and he moved us backwards to our cot laying us down with him above me, he pulled away and looked at me, "We don't have to if you don't want to." He tells me and I kissed him

"I want to"

He smirked and kissed me again and it grew more passionate as he positioned himself between my legs. I felt his hand slowly trace up and down my inner thigh, as he moved his mouth from mine down to my neck and he sucked at it but not hard enough to leave a mark, I let out a soft moan and he gripped my thigh.

He brought his arm up and held himself up above me. He looked into my eyes, I kissed him and pulled away biting his lower lip, he growled the kissed me fiercely moving his hand up my shirt again and pulled it over my head throwing it to the side, I reached my hands up unbuttoning his throwing it as well. His hand lightly squeezed my breast and I moaned feeling the bulge in his pants push against my center. I moved my nails lightly down his chest and went to the waist line of his pants undoing the buckle then the button and zipper and reached my hand into his underwear wrapping it around his member, he jerked and groaned tightening his grip on my thighs as I moved my hand up and down

"Fuck Kate." He groaned against my neck then I brought my hand out and pushed his pants down. He followed my lead pulling my pants and underwear off too then looked at me trailing his eyes over my body, I felt exposed because I was naked in front of him, we were seeing each other like this for the first time and my heart was beating so hard I thought it was gonna bust out of my chest.

His fingers found my moist center and he softly pressed down onto my clit. I gasped and kissed him furiously. He circled it and noticed that I was growing wetter, "You ready?" He asked me, I nodded my head and kissed him again. Our tongues melded together passionately. I shot my head back head as I felt him push slowly into me. I released a small yelp as he entered, I didn't realize how big he was. He quickly pulled out and looked at me, "Did I hurt you?" He asked

"I'm okay. Don't stop." I reassured him. He moved back in between my legs and entered me again, cautiously and even slower than before. I winced slightly as he pushed inside me and I allowed my muscles to relax.

Daryl looked into my eyes as he slowly began moving himself in and out. I had never experienced sex that felt this way, wanted and loved. The way he kissed me and touched me made my whole body tingle with desire. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist as our bodies rocked together. I moved my hips to match his pace, my moans grew louder as he repeatedly hit my g spot with each thrust so I bit my lip trying to be quiet. I was growing wetter with each push, my hands wrapped around his waist as I pushed him deeper inside me. I grabbed his hair and pulled his head close to my lips, "Faster…Harder…please" I managed to whisper, the pleasure I was feeling made it difficult to form a sentence.

"Say please again" He growled in my ear and I moaned

"Please...Daryl" I moaned and he pumped into me harder and rapidly, He bit his lip hard enough to bring blood to keep himself from finishing, his one hand gripped my thigh and the other was tangled in my hair, "Oh..Daryl..." I moaned quietly and he looked at me then moved his mouth to my ear

"Say that again," He growled then lightly bit my neck sending shocks throughout my body and I got even more turned on

"Daryl...OH!" I moaned as he pushed into me even faster and I gripped his back, I felt him tense but I knew about his scars for a while now. I couldn't hold back anymore and my back arched as my orgasm sent waves through my body and my moans turned to silent screams of pleasure. After a few more pushes and grunts I felt him twitch inside me as his body bucked as he came. He grunted loudly as I felt his body convulse. He collapsed on top of me and he looked at me moving some hair out of my face then kissed me.

He rolled off of me and we both tried to catch our breath, I turned over to look at him and he looked at me. He put his hand on my face before kissing me on my lips, I put my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me after pulling the blanket over us.

"Well I think that was worth the wait" I panted and he chuckled then kissed me

"Nice to be out here by ourselves. We have some privacy" He said and I kissed him again then we laid there and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**We are the Walking Dead**

 **A/N: I am so sorry everyone, I had to take chapter 6 down because I didn't realize that I missed a chapter that I had already saved. Here it is and the one you just read is up next. Again I am so so sorry.**

"Can I ask you something?" Daryl asked running his hand up and down my arm

"Sure"

"Why were you discharged from the Army?" He asked and I sighed

"There was a member of my troop who thought she was better then everyone else and always bragged about how she couldn't be touched. Well we had a break one weekend we all went out to the bar, I noticed she was flirting and grinding up on some guy in the bar. Now normally that wouldn't bother me, I would just ignore it and mve on but she was married, the military frowns on that kind of thing. I confronted her about it and threatened to tell but she just laughed and told me to mind my own business. I scoffed and walked away but apparently she wasn't done. She said I shouldn't judge her so much, said that Carl didn't even look like Rick and called Lori a cheating slut. I whipped around and punched her in the face and kept going until another troop member pulled me off of her. So needless to say I was discharged after that."

"Why didn't she get discharged?" He asked me

"She was our Corporal's daughter." I pointed out and he scoffed

"Figures" He says and I giggled then went to get up but he pulled me back down, "Where do you think you're going?" He asked and I smiled

"To get dressed and start the day. Why what did you have in mind?" I asked him and he kissed me

"I have an idea" He started to kiss my neck then flipped us so he was on top and I moaned

"Are you trying to seduce me Daryl Dixon?"

"You bet" He growled in my ear and continued what he was doing

* * *

I walked over to Daryl as they load up Shane's car to go get Rick and them, "Be careful" I tell him and he gave a small smile

"Always am"

"Coming from the guy who got thrown off a horse" I joked and he looked at me, "Too soon?" I asked with a smile and he pulled me to him

"You think you're funny?"

"I am funny" I told him and he kissed me, I saw Shane look at us and scoff then look away.

"Guys" Andrea says walking over and we see the red truck pull down the driveway and up to the house, Rick and them get out and Carl runs over to him.

"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery." Hershel tells her as he walked into the house

"Are you hurt?" I asked Rick after hugging him and he looked at me

"No, but what happened to you?"

"I was in a car accident." I informed him

"Accident? How?"

"I went looking for you, Kate joined." Lori pointed out

"Snuck out on their own. Brought them back." Shane told him and I glared at him

"Are you crazy? You could've..." Rick started to say but T-Dog cut him off

"Who the hell is that?"

I look over to where he was pointing and I see a kid passed out in the back seat, "That's Randall." Glenn answered

* * *

"We couldn't just leave him behind. He would've bled out, if he lived that long." Rick informed us

"It's gotten bad in town." Glenn adds

"What do we do with him?" I asked as Hershel walked in

"I repaired his calf muscle as best I can, but he'll probably have nerve damage. Won't be on his feet for at least a week."

"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way." Rick tells us

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea asked him

"He'll have a fighting chance."

"Just gonna let him go? He knows where we are." Shane says to Rick and Daryl walked in standing next to me

"He was blindfolded the whole way here. He's not a threat."

"Not a threat. How many of them were there? You killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage, but they just ain't gonna come looking for him?" Shane points out

"They left him for dead. No one is looking."

"We should still post a guard." T-Dog brought up

"He's out cold right now, will be for hours." Hershel says

"You know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy. Look at this, folks... We back in fantasy land." Shane said bitterly walking away

"You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet. Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all... This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor... Keep your mouth shut." Hershel told Shane who eventually walked out the door

"Look we're not gonna do anything about it today, let's just cool off" Rick says to Hershel and I see Andrea walk out then everyone else gets up and does the same, Carol walked over to Daryl who walked out the door, I looked at her and put my hand on her shoulder then followed him.

* * *

"Rick say anything to you about Glenn when they got back from town?" Maggie asked me as we stand in the kitchen preparing food

"Just that it had gotten pretty bad."

"He's not the same. Says he froze. Blames me. Says I got inside his head." Maggie tells us

"He came back-that's what matters. Men have to do certain things-You know that- And they're either gonna blame the little woman as the reason they do 'em or the reason they don't. I'll tell you something- what happens out there happens out there. And we-we're just trying to keep it together till they get back."

"Things were good. Maybe I-" Maggie started to say but I cut her off

"Glenn's a big boy. He makes his own choices, and then you-do you have anything to apologize for?" I asked her and she shook her head, "Tell him to man up and pull himself together. Just don't say "man up." It never goes well." I point out and chuckled

"Let me just get this to Beth."

"You go on- I got it." I tell her grabbing the tray and walked away

* * *

"Knock knock." I said walking into the room Beth was in and set the tray down, "How about this- You, uh- You eat up all your food, we'll get you up and out of here and go take a walk. What do you say? It'll do good to be outside." I tell her and she just sat there looking off into space, I sighed then walked out of the room

* * *

"Couldn't eat a thing, huh?" I asked walking back into the room a while later seeing nothing was touched, "You're gonna-" I started to say but I heard her crying so I knelt down next to the bed, "Hey. I know how hard it is. I tried for days to reach my parents, and get them on the phone. I can only assume-"

"It's just so pointless." She says cutting me off

"Oh. You have Maggie, and your father, Patricia and Jimmy. And you've gotta stay strong for them. I wish I could promise you it would be all right in the end. I can't, but we can make now all right... And we have to." I reassured her and she looked at me

"Thank you."

"I'll be right back. We'll go take that walk." I tell her and grabbed the tray walking back into the kitchen but as I cleaned it up I noticed something was missing so I went back into the room, "Beth? You give it to me, sweetheart. You don't wanna do this." I said and she reached out from under the blanket and handed me the knife. I sighed and walked out then ran to the RV, "Andrea, have you seen Maggie or Hershel?" I asked her

"I haven't seen Hershel, but I saw Maggie and Glenn walk by maybe 20 minutes ago."

"Could you find her for me? I've gotta get back to the house." I asked

"Of course." She says and I ran back to the house

* * *

Me, and Andrea stood in the kitchen listening to Maggie and Beth argue, "Where's Hershel?" She asked me

"Maggie doesn't want him to find out yet. It's a family affair. We'll let them work it out."

"That's working it out?" Andrea asked

"When Beth stops fighting, that's when it's time to worry."

"This could've been handled better." Andrea says and I look at her

"How so?" I asked her

"You shouldn't have taken the knife away."

"Excuse me?" I asked

"You were wrong, like Dale taking my gun. That wasn't your decision. She has to choose to live on her own. She has to find her own reasons."

"Want me to tie a noose for her?" I asked putting stuff away in the fridge

"If she's serious, she'll figure out a way."

"Doesn't mean we can't stop her or let her know that we care." I tell Andrea

"That has nothing to do with it, Kate. She only has so many choices in front of her, and she believes the best one is suicide."

"That's not an option." I said to her

"Of course it is. She doesn't need to be yelled at or treated like a child."

"She needs a loaded gun, right? You'll understand if we don't send you in there." I point out to Andrea

"I came through it"

"And became such a productive member of the group." I mentioned

"I contribute. I help keep this place safe." Andrea argued

"The men can handle this on their own. They don't need your help." I tell her

"I'm sorry. What would you have me do?"

"Oh, there's plenty of work to go around." I say

"Are you serious? Everything falls apart, you're in my face over skipping laundry?"

"Puts a burden on the rest of us, on me, Lori and Carol, and Patricia and Maggie. Cooking, cleaning and caring for Beth. And you- you don't care about anyone but yourself- You sit up on that RV, working on your tan with a shotgun in your lap." I bring up and she looked at me

"No, I am on watch against walkers. That is what matters, not fresh mint leaves in the lemonade."

"Like you were when you shot Daryl?" I asked her and she stayed silent, "We are providing stability. We are trying to create a life worth living." I added

"Are you kidding me?"

"Look, Lori and I went after Rick. I took down two walkers" I tell her

"After crashing Maggie's car. Lori ever apologize for that?" Andrea asked as we talked over each other

"Crashing her- You're insane." I say to her

"No, you are. And you're the one that's self-centered, the way you take it all for granted."

"My brother is out there for the hundredth time. My nephew was shot. Don't you dare tell me I take this for granted." I defended

"You don't get it, do you? Your brother came back from the dead, your nephew too. The rest of us have piled up our losses- Me, Carol, Beth but you just keep on keeping on. Playing house, Lori acting like the queen bee, laying down rules for everybody but herself. You know what? Go ahead. Go in there and tell that little girl that everything's gonna be okay, just like it is for you. She'll have her family, friends, boyfriends." Andrea says spitting out that last part and I glared at her, "She just has to look on the bright side." She adds and walked out

* * *

"Beth? Beth?" I hear Maggie say from outside the room and I walk in

"Maggie?" I asked her

"She's in there. I heard glass."

"Beth, you all right?" I asked as we move to the door

"Don't do this, Beth. Don't do this. Open up, please." Maggie begged trying to open the door, "God, I left her with Andrea." Maggie pointed out and I sighed moving away and tried to find the key

"Where's a key?" I asked her

"I don't know. Beth honey, please open the door. I'm not mad. I'm not mad, Beth."

I walked over and grabbed a fire poker then moved back to the door, "Maggie" I said and she moved as I shoved it between the door and the frame, "Hang on" I pulled and popped the door open

Beth turned and faced us holding her wrist as she cried, "I'm sorry"

Maggie moved over to her and pulled her into a hug, "It's okay, it's okay" She cried as well walking Beth out of the bathroom

* * *

Maggie and I walked out of the house to see Andrea running up, "Where were you?" Maggie asked her

"I just heard, is she alright?"

"She would be if you had stayed with her. Where were you?" Maggie asked again

"How bad is she?"

"It wasn't deep." I tell her

"She wants to live. She made her decision."

"She tried to kill herself." Maggie points out

"No, she didn't."

"My father is stitching her wrist right now." Maggie defended

"She'll live."

"Stay away from her. From both of us. Don't you dare step foot inside this house again." Maggie warned Andrea stopping her from going in the house

"I'm not gonna say she was right, but Beth has made her choice. She wants to live and now she knows it... And sometimes you have to cross the line. " I tell Maggie who put her hand on my arm and walked back inside.


	7. Chapter 7

**We are the Walking Dead**

"So, what you gonna do?" Lori asked Rick as we gathered around their camp, I didn't like what Rick asked Daryl to do, "We'd all feel better if we knew the plan."

"Is there a plan?" Andrea asked

"We gonna keep him here?" Glenn asked as well

"We'll know soon enough." Rick tells us and I see Daryl walk over with bloody knuckles as he stood next to me

"Boy there's got a gang, 30 men. They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women," He paused and looked at me, "they're gonna- They're gonna wish they were."

"What did you do?" Carol asked him

"Had a little chat." He says and I shook my head

"No one goes near this guy." Rick tells us

"Rick, what are you gonna do?" Lori asked him

"We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat."

"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale asked

"It's settled. I'll do it today." Rick says walking away and Dale followed him

Daryl sat down in a chair and I grabbed a rag wetting it down then started to wipe his hands, he flinched when I got to his knuckles, "Sorry"

"It's ok," He tells me and I continue, "You ok?"

"I just wish you wouldn't have had to do that. I mean I know I didn't see it and we needed answers but to think about it I just..."

"Hey," He stopped me and I looked at him, "I'm sorry, this was the only time, I promise"

"I know" I said with a small smile and finished cleaning his hands then he kissed me

* * *

"The whole point of us coming up here is to get away from you people." I hear Daryl say and I turn to see Dale walking over to us

"Gonna take more than that."

"Carol send you?" Daryl asked him

"Carol's not the only one that's concerned about the both of you or your new role in the group Daryl."

"Oh, man, I don't need my head shrunk. This group's broken. We're better off fending for ourselves." Daryl tells him

"You act like you don't care."

"Yeah, it's 'cause I don't." Daryl mentioned, I looked at him. He did care but he just didn't want to show it.

"So live or die, you don't care what happens to Randall?" Dale asked him

"Nope."

"Then why not stand with me, try to save the kid's life, if it really doesn't matter one way or the other?" Dale asked

"Didn't peg you for a desperate son of a bitch."

"Your opinion makes a difference, yours too Kate your Rick's sister" He says to us

"Man, ain't nobody looking at me for nothing." Daryl told him

"Carol is, and I am. Right now. And you obviously- You have Rick's ear."

"Rick just looks to Shane. Let him." Daryl says and I tensed

"You cared about what happened to Sofia. Cared what it meant to the group." Dale pointed out, "Torturing people? That isn't you. You're a decent man. So is Rick. Shane- He's different."

"Why's that? 'Cause he killed Otis?" I asked and he looked at me then walked over

"He tell you that?"

"He told a story- How Otis covered him, saved his ass. He showed up with the dead guy's gun. My brother isn't stupid. If he didn't figure that out, it's 'cause he didn't wanna. It's like Daryl said- Group's broken." I told him

"Kate, you were in the army, you made an oath to protect people. You can't think this is right."

"That was before we found out this kid has a group of guys who would kill all the men here and...I don't want to know what they would do to the rest of us. I'm sorry Dale but I can't have the people I love be put in danger, including you." I said to him then me and Daryl headed into the woods.

* * *

"So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn asked

"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea adds

"How about majority rules?" Lori asks

"Well, let's- let's just see where everybody stands, then we can talk through the options." Rick tells us

"Well, where I sit, there's only one way to move forward." Shane mentioned

"Killing him, right? I mean, why even bother to even take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing." Dale says

"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know." Rick said to him

"Well, I can tell you it's a small group- Maybe just me and Glenn." Dale says and I saw Glenn look at him

"Look, I- I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this-"

"They've got you scared." Dale tells him

"He's not one of us. And we've- we've lost too many people already."

"How about you? Do you agree with this?" Dale asked Maggie

"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?"

"Just another mouth to feed." Daryl pointed out from behind me

"It may be a lean winter." Hershel adds

"We could ration better." Lori mentioned

"Well, he could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself." Dale brought up

"Put him to work?" I asked

"We're not letting him walk around." Rick says

'We could put an escort on him." Maggie suggested

"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane asked

"I will." Dale answered

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy." Rick interjected

"He's right. I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." Lori agreed

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labor." Andrea pointed out

"Look, say we let him join us, right? Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his 30 men." Shane says

"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt? If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization." Dale defended

"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?" I asked Rick

"You barely came back this time. There are walkers. You could break down. Y-you could get lost." Lori says

"Or get ambushed." Daryl adds

"They're right. We should not put our own people at risk." Glenn says

"If you go through with it, how would you do it? Would he suffer?" Patricia asked

"We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck." Shane suggested

"I thought about that. Shooting may be more humane." Rick says

"And what about the body? Do we bury him?" T-Dog asked

"Hold on, hold on! You're talking about this like it's already decided." Dale interrupted

"You've been talking all day, going around in circles. You just wanna go around in circles again?" Daryl asked him

"This is a young man's life, and it is worth more than a five-minute conversation! Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him and now look at us. He's been tortured. He's gonna be executed. How are we any better than those people that we're so afraid of?"

"We all know what needs to be done." Shane pointed out

"No, Dale is right. We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-"

"So what's the other solution?" Andrea asked cutting Rick off

"Let Rick finish." Lori tells her

"We haven't come up with a single viable option yet. I wish we could." Andrea says ignoring her

"So let's work on it!" Dale tells us

"We are." Rick tells him

"Stop it. Just stop it. I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please decide- Either of you, both of you- But leave me out." Carol said

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself- There's no difference." Dale says to her

"All right, that's enough. Anybody who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance." Rick told us and everyone stayed quiet

"You once said that we don't kill the living." Dale mentioned to Rick

"Well, that was before the living tried to kill us."

"But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were- The world that we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It's... Harsh. It's- it's survival of the fittest. And that's a world I don't wanna live in, and I don't- And I don't believe that any of you do. I can't. Please. Let's just do what's right. Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me?" Dale asked and looked at Andrea

"He's right. We should try to find another way." Andrea mentioned

"Anybody else?" Rick asked but nobody spoke up

"Are y'all gonna watch, too?" Dale asked trying to fight tears, "No, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. Whoa... I won't be a party to it." He says and headed for the door but stopped in front of me and Daryl, "This group is broken." He tells Daryl and walked out

* * *

I was standing with the others when Rick walked over with Carl, "We're keeping him in custody, for now"

"I'm gonna go find Dale," Andrea says standing up then walked away. After a while we hear screaming coming from the field and I grabbed my knife.

"Get Carl." Rick says to Lori

"Baby." Lori grabbed Carl

"What happened?"

"T-dog, get a shotgun now!

"I want you to go in the house, I want you to lock the door and I want you to stay inside." Lori tells him and he ran to the house and I ran off following Rick to the field

"Dale!" I hear Andrea yell

"Help! Over here! Help! Run!" I also hear Daryl yell and I ran faster as we all arrived seeing Dale on the ground with his stomach ripped open, I put my hand over my mouth and Lori wrapped her arms around me

"Oh, my God. Oh, God." Rick says bending down to Dale

"All right, just listen to my voice. Listen to me, all right? Just listen to me. Okay, hold on now. Get Hershel!" He yells, "He needs blood. We gotta operate now."

"Hang on, Dale. Hang on. Listen to me. Come on." Andrea tells him kneeling down holding his hand

"Okay, just listen to my voice. All right, please. Hershel! We need Hershel! Look at me. Dale, we're gonna help. We're here. Just hold on- hold on." Rick said trying to calm him down

"What happened?" Hershel asked rushing over and Daryl pulled me into a hug as I cried

"What can we do?" Rick asked him

"Dale, it's gonna be okay." Andrea say

"Can we move him?" Rick asked Hershel

"He won't make the trip."

"You have to do the operation here. Glenn, get back to the house." Rick tells him

"Rick."

"No!" Rick yelled and we all start to cry

"He's suffering. Do something!" Andrea tells him, I see Rick slowly lift his gun but Daryl stepped away from me and walked over to him taking it then knelt down next to Dale and pointed it at him

"I'm sorry, brother." He says and shoots Dale

* * *

"Dale could- could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us- The truth... Who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, st feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives... Our safety... ...our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on... We're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale"

* * *

"It'll be tight, 15 people in one house." Rick tells Hershel as we get our stuff packed up to move into the house

"Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..."

"With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell." Maggie pointed out

"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago." Hershel added

"All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road. Just leave it there. We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sight lines both sides of the property. Kate, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going." Rick told me and I nodded my head then went to grab mine and Daryl's stuff

"What about standing guard?" T-Dog asked him

"I need you and Daryl on double duty."

"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be." Hershel says

"What about patrols?" Andrea asked Rick

"Let's get this area locked down first. After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose."

I walked over to our stuff and Daryl put his hand on my shoulder, "You doing ok?"

"Trying to be"

He took the bag I was holding out of my hand and pulled me into a hug, "I'm here, I ain't going anywhere."

I pulled away and smiled at him, "You better keep that promise, I don't know what I would do if I lost you." I tell him and he kissed my head then we got back to packing stuff up and I see Shane look at me then walk towards the house.

* * *

"Wouldn't that be easier if you waited for some help?" I asked Shane while he was on top of the windmill

"Ain't no use waiting for something that ain't gonna come. No, I'll just- Just do it all myself."

"Yeah, you always do, just like that time you showed up Rick fixing my sink." I told him and he chuckled

"Yeah. Just so you know, that's not the reason your basement flooded. You can thank Rick for that- Using rubber washers with a metal pipe."

"Please come down." I tell him and he climbed down and walked over, "So after Sophia, I, uh... I thought "We'll figure this out." You know, we'll heal somehow. After Dale? This is real. And we can't... Keep it at bay. It's already got us. And it just keeps coming, doesn't it? I made a mess of things. I put you and Rick at odds. You led us out of Atlanta with no thought for yourself. Do you remember that night? The flames, the- And I'm sitting in your car thinking "We're gonna be all right. He's gonna make it all right. We'll get out of here." And I never thanked you for that. Even though things got... Confused between us, you were there for me. You were there for my family. Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me for that." He says to me

"Of course I do. Of course I do."

"No, you-"

"Whatever happened between us, whatever the hell we thought it was- And not just you, but- I'm sorry, Shane. Please believe me. I am so sorry." I tell him and he looked at me, he was about to say something but I walked away heading back to the house.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Maggie asked us as they came over to the shed Randall escaped from

"Randall's missing." Glenn told her

"Missing? How?"

"How long's he been gone?" Hershel asked

"It's hard to say. The cuffs are still hooked. He must' slipped 'em." Rick answered

"Is that possible?" Carol asked

"It is if you've got nothing to lose." Andrea says

"The door was secured from the outside." Hershel pointed out

"Rick! Rick!" Shane yelled walking over and I saw blood on his face

"What happened?" I asked him

"He's armed! He's got my gun!" Shane tells him and I looked at Daryl who put his hand on my arm

"Are you okay?" Carl asked

"I'm fine. Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face."

"All right, Hershel, Kate, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us." Rick tells them

"I'm coming with you" I told him, Daryl and Rick looked at me

"No" Rick says

"This isn't up for debate Rick, I'm going. That's final." I tell him and Daryl grabbed my arm

"Stay by me" He says and I nodded

"T, I'm gonna need that gun." Shane tells him

"Just let him go. That was the plan, wasn't it, to just let him go?" Carol asked as I got my gun ready

"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun." Rick told her

"Don't go out there. Ya'll don't know what can happen." Carol says

"Get everybody back in the house. Lock all the doors and stay put!" Rick demanded and we headed to the woods

"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out. I'm not sure how long." Shane informed us

"He couldn't have gotten far. He's hobbled, exhausted." Rick pointed out

"And armed." Glenn added

"So are we."

"Can you track him?" I asked Daryl

"No, I don't see nothing."

"Hey, look, there ain't no use in tracking him, okay? He went that way. We need to pair up. We spread out, we just chase him down. That's it." Shane says and I looked at him, something didn't feel right

"Kid weighs a buck-25 soaking wet. You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?" Daryl asked him

"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?"

"Alright, knock it off. You, Kate and Glenn start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane'll take the left. Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out for each other." Rick told us and I gave one last look at Shane then me, Daryl and Glenn split off from them.

* * *

"This is pointless. You got a light?" Daryl asked us and I handed him my flashlight, he looked around then groaned, "Come on." He says and we continue walking

"We're just back to square one." Glenn says

"If you're gonna do a thing, you might as well do it right." Daryl told him as we continued walking, "There's two sets of tracks right here. Shane must've followed him a lot longer than he said." Daryl pointed out and I looked over at a tree

"Hey shine that light over here," I tell him and he shined it up as I moved closer, "There's fresh blood on this tree." I mentioned

"There's more tracks. Looks like they're walking in tandem." Daryl said and I moved away from the tree but tripped bumping into Daryl

"Sorry."

"There was a little dust up right here." He points out

"What do you mean?" I asked him

"I mean something went down."

"It's getting weird." Glenn says

"Had a little trouble." Daryl picked up the blindfold we had on Randall that was on the ground then we hear rustling so Daryl moved me behind a tree and Glenn hid behind another one. Daryl whistled to him and tossed him the flashlight then got his crossbow ready as I peeked out and saw a walker. Glenn went out from behind the tree shining the light and I see it's Randall as a walker, Glenn went to hold him off but got tackled to the ground as Daryl shot his crossbow but it missed then the walker came towards him and pinned Daryl down, I grabbed the walker off of him and stabbed my knife into it's head killing it then helped Daryl up and hugged him.

* * *

"Got his neck broke" Daryl pointed out looking at Randall's body, "He's got no bites."

"Yeah, none you can see." Glenn mentioned

"No, I'm telling you he died from this."

"How's that possible?" I asked as my gut twisted, I had a bad feeling about this

* * *

 **Rick POV...**

"You say he got you with a rock?" I asked Shane as we came out to the field

"That's what I said."

"Inside the shed?" I asked, "'Cause that door was shut when T-Dog rolled up." I pointed out

"I saw that too. Must've slipped through the rafters in the roof."

"So this is where you planned to do it?" I asked him, I knew what he was planning, have for a while now, "It's a good place as any. At least have the balls to call this what it is- Murder. You really believe if you walk back onto that farm alone- No me, no Randall-"

"I want you to hush up."

"You really believe they're gonna buy whatever bullshit story you cook up?" I asked him

"That's just it. It ain't no story. I saw that prisoner shoot you down. I ran after him. I snapped his neck. It ain't gonna be easy, but Kate, Lori and Carl-They'll get over you. They done it before. They just gonna have to." He says and cocked his gun pointing it at me.

"Why? Why now? I thought we worked this all out."

"We tried to kill each other man. What you think? We just gonna forget about it all? We gonna ride off into the sunset together?" He asked

"You're gonna kill me in cold blood? Kill Daryl then screw my sister? Is that what you want? That life won't be worth a damn. I know you. You won't be able to live with this."

"What you know about what I can live with?" He asked lowering the gun, "You got no idea what I can live with, what I live with! You wanna talk about what I can do, Rick? How about what you can do? Here I am. Come on, man. Raise your gun."

"No. No, I will not."

"What happened, Rick?" He asked, "I thought you weren't the good guy anymore. Ain't that what you said? Even right here, right now, you ain't gonna fight for 'em? I'm a better father than you, Rick. I'm better for Kate than that redneck piece of trash she's sleeping with. 'Cause I can be here and I'll fight for it. You come back here and you just destroy everything! You got a broken woman. You got a weak boy. You got a sister who is wasting her time with the wrong man. You ain't got the first clue on how to fix it. Raise your gun."

"You're gonna have to kill an unarmed man." I tell him and raise my hands up, "Watch my hand. Nice and easy." I tell him reaching for my gun then grabbed it and lifted it up, "Easy does it. Now listen to me, Shane. There is still a way back from this. Nothing has happened here. We're gonna lay down our guns and we're gonna walk back to the farm... Together. Back to Lori. Back to Carl. Back to Kate. Put this all behind us." I tell him getting closer and he reached and grabbed my gun but as he did I pulled out my knife and stabbed him, "Shh." I tell him bringing him to the ground, "Damn you for making me do this, Shane. This was you, not me! You did this to us! This was you, not me- not me! Not me!" I started to cry over my dead friends body. My partner.

"Dad?" I hear my son say and I faced him

"Carl. You know...You should be back home with mom." I tell him and he raised a gun up at me, "Just- just put the- Put the gun down. It's not what it seems. Please. Wait-wait-wait-wait." I said and he shot it killing Shane who turned into a walker and was walking towards us.

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked as we walked into the house

"No."

"We heard a shot." I said

"Maybe they found Randall." Lori mentioned

"We found him." Daryl told her

"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asked him

"He's a walker."

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked

"No, the weird thing is he wasn't bit." Glenn answered

"His neck was broke." Daryl added

"So he fought back." Patricia pointed out

"The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. They were together." Daryl pointed out

"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori asked Daryl walking up to him

"You got it."

"Thank you." She says and Daryl nodded at me to follow him

"I think Shane staged this whole thing." I told him as we walked outside

"So you think Shane's lying? Why would he do that?" He asked me

"He doubts Rick as a leader, could've made this up to try and kill Rick. Get me back." I said and sighed, "Daryl I can't..." I tell him and he put his hand on my shoulder and was about to say something but he looked out into the field, I followed his gaze and saw a herd of walkers coming towards us and the others walked out as I grabbed Daryl's hand.

"Patricia, kill the lights." Hershel tells her and she headed inside

"I'll get the guns." Andrea says and followed

"Maybe they're just passing, like the herd on the highway. Should we just go inside?' Glenn asked

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about. A herd that size would rip the house down." Daryl tells him

"Carl's gone." Lori tells us walking out

"What?" I asked her

"He... he was upstairs. I can't find him anymore."

"Maybe he's hiding." Glenn told her

"He's supposed to be upstairs. I'm not leaving without my boy."

"We're not. We're gonna look again. We're gonna find him." Carol tells her and they head inside as Andrea came out with the guns then Maggie handed one to Glenn

"Maggie."

"You grow up country, you pick up a thing or two." She says to him loading it

"They got the numbers... It's no use." Daryl pointed out

"You can go if you want." Hershel says

"You gonna take 'em all on?" I asked him

"We have guns. We have cars."

"Kill as many as we can, and we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm." Andrea pointed out

"Are you serious?" Daryl asked him

"This is my farm. I'll die here."

"All right. It's as good a night as any." Daryl says and looked at me, "Come with me" He tells me and we get down over the railing and headed to his bike. I climbed on the back and he got on then drove off. I held on to him with one hand while shooting walkers with the others as everyone else did the same then he pulled up to the RV Jimmy was in, ""Yo! Must've been Rick or Shane who started that fire. Maybe they're trying to get out back! Why don't you circle around?" Daryl tells Jimmy

"Got it!" Jimmy tells him and we drive off

* * *

We sat there watching the barn burn from a distance when we hear screaming, Daryl started his bike and drove in the direction, I see Carol running from walkers and I got off the bike shooting them

"Come on I ain't got all day" Daryl tells her and she gets on, "Kate!"

"There's no room just go I'll catch up." I tell him killing walkers

"No way, come on!" He yells at me

"Damn it Daryl get her out of here!" I yelled and ran the other way hearing his bike drive off. I ran into the woods as fast as I could away from the herd that was following me. I found a tree that had a hole in it, I looked back and saw the small herd was a good distance away from me so I grabbed a rock and threw it in another direction then got into the hole. A few of them walked by as I sat there waiting, finally it got quiet so I climbed out and looked around but suddenly one snuck up on me tackling me to the ground, I held it up with one hand as best as I could as I grabbed my knife and stabbed it in the head rolling it off of me. I got up and looked around seeing more coming so I thought quick and did what Rick and Glenn did back in Atlanta, I covered my shirt with it's guts and headed off further into the woods hoping to find any of my people or at least the highway.

* * *

The sun was finally coming up as I continued to make my way through the woods, "Stay off the main roads. The bigger the road, the more walkers, mo assholes like this one. I got him." I hear a voice say and I recognized it so I rushed forward but tripped over a root, I grabbed my ankle in pain

"Let's get what gas we can from these vehicles and get going." I hear Rick say as I stood up and limped forward making my way out of the trees, as I did Rick, Daryl and Hershel raised their guns up at me

"Whoa, friend not foe" I told them raising my hands and Rick ran over to me pulling me into a hug despite the fact that I had walker guts on me

"Thank god" He whispered in my ear as I cried into his shoulder then he moved away and Daryl wrapped me up into his arms kissing my cheek then moved to my lips

"You scared me" He says and I looked at him

"I'm sorry, I just wanted you to get Carol out of there." I told him and smiled at Carol

"Aunt Kate!" Carl yelled running up to me and I hugged him

"How did you get away?" Rick asked me

"I did what you and Glenn did back in Atlanta. A walker tackled me but I killed it then covered myself." I told him

"Let's find you something else while they get gas." Lori tells me walking over, I wanted to hug her but being covered in this probably wouldn't smell good to her.

* * *

After I got changed into different clothes that we found in a car and got some what cleaned up everyone got in the cars while I got on the back of Daryl's bike and we drove off.

* * *

As we drove one of the cars honked at us and Daryl stopped then I got off, "You out?" Daryl asked Rick as they walked over

"Running on fumes."

"We can't stay here." Maggie pointed out

"We can't all fit in one car." Glenn says

"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning." Rick told

"Spend the night here?" Carol asked

"I'm freezing." Carl says and Rick took his coat off and put it on him

"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori tells him

"You go out looking for firewood, stay close. Only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?" Daryl asked Rick

"Not enough."

"I'm getting low too" I added

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out." Maggie says

"Watch your mouth. Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick." Hershel tells us

"All right, we'll set up a perimeter. In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on."

"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas." Maggie tells Rick

"No, we stay together. God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."

"Rick, we're stranded now." Glenn said to him

"I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure... I really wasn't... but we did. We're together. We keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."

"Rick, look around. Okay? There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something." Glenn says

"There's gotta be a place not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other. I know it's out there. We just have to find it."

"Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe, we can never be sure. For how long? Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that that was safe." Maggie pointed out

"We won't make that mistake again. We'll make camp tonight over there, get on the road at the break of day." Rick told us pointing to what looked like a broken down bridge

"Does this feel right to you?" Carol asked me and Daryl

"What if walkers come through, or another group like Randall's?" Beth asked

"You know I found Randall, right? He had turned, but he wasn't bit." Daryl pointed out

"How's that possible?" Beth asked

"Rick, what the hell happened?" I asked him

"Shane killed Randall. Just like he always wanted to." Daryl answered

"And then the herd got him?" I ask

"We're all infected." Rick told us and I looked at him confused

"What?" Daryl asked him

"At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it."

"And you never said anything?" Carol asked him

"Would it have made a difference?"

"You knew this whole time?" I asked him

"How could I have known for sure? You saw how crazy that mo..."

"That is not your call. Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone." Glenn tells him

"Well, I thought it best that people didn't know." Rick told us and walked away, I sighed and shook my head

"Come on" Daryl says to me after loading his crossbow and we headed into the trees to get firewood.

* * *

Later that night we all gathered around the fire as Daryl put more wood into it then sat down next to me wrapping his arm around my shoulder then kissed my temple.

"We're not safe with him." Carol whispered to us and we looked at her, "Keeping something like that from us. Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down." She says to Daryl

"No. Rick's done all right by me."

"You're his henchman and I'm a burden. We deserve better." She says

"What do you want?" I asked her

"A man of honor."

"Rick has honor." I said

"I think we should take our chances." Maggie adds

"Don't be foolish. There's no food, no fuel, no ammo." Hershel says and we hear leaves rustling, Daryl stood up

"What was that?" Beth asked

"Could be anything. Could be a raccoon, could be a possum." Daryl mentioned

"Walker." Glenn says and Rick walked over

"We need to leave. I mean what are we waiting for?" Carol asked

"Which way?" Glenn asked

"It came from over there." Maggie answered

"Back from where we came." Beth adds

"Yeah."

"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot." Rick tells us

"Don't panic." Hershel says to Maggie

"I'm not... I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now."

"No one is going anywhere." Rick said

"Do something." Carol told him

"I am doing something! I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!" Rick tells us and I looked at him in shock

"What?" I asked him and he looked at me, for some reason tears formed in my eyes but I ignored them

"You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean. Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe... maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe... maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you... Why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get." He says and we all stay quiet except for Carl who was crying into Lori's shoulder, "No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight... you're staying. This isn't a democracy anymore."


	8. Chapter 8

**We are the Walking Dead**

We moved from place to place for 8 months, the only way we knew how long was because of Lori's pregnancy. While we stopped at one place for the night we brought in stuff we gathered along the way considering we lost most of our stuff back at the farm.

I sat near Daryl as he plucked the feathers out of an owl, I see Carl walk in and sit on the floor with a couple cans, I saw that they were dog food. Rick walked over to him as he opened it grabbing it then walked away throwing it into the fire place. We all sat in silence and I looked over at Carl giving him a small smile.

"Psst" T-Dog says from the window and we gather up or stuff again then walked out the back heading to the cars and I got on the back of Daryl's bike then we drove off

* * *

"We've got no place left to go." T-Dog points out as we stop on the road to look at a map

"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off, we'll never make it south." Maggie mentioned

"What do you say, it's about 150 head?" Daryl asked Glenn from next to me

"That was last week, could be twice that now."

"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through this." Hershel says

"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way." I brought up pointing to the map

"So we're blocked." Maggie added

"Only thing to do is double back at 27th and swing towards Greenville." Rick tells us

"We picked through that already, it's like we spent the winter going in circles." T-Dog told him

"Yeah, I know. I know. At Newnan we'll push west. Haven't been through the area. We can't keep going house to house. We need to find some place to hold up for a few weeks."

"Alright. Is it cool if we get to the creek before we head out? It won't take long. We gotta fill up on water, we can boil it later." I mention to him

"Knock yourself out"

* * *

We stand next to a fence at the prison Rick and Daryl found as Rick cut a slit in it so we could get through.

"Watch the backside!" Rick tells us as we slowly make our way to the fence and slide through. I got Lori and Carl in then followed.

Glenn and Daryl close the wire up then we start to run, the walkers approach but are stopped by the fence, I run next to Daryl who opens one of the gates and we go in. There is a courtyard filled with walkers, "It's perfect." Rick tells us as we all look at the prison, "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight."

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked

"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Glenn says

"No, it's a suicide run." Maggie tells him

"I'm the fastest."

"No. You, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there" Rick tells us pointing to another part of the fence, pop them through the fence. Daryl, Kate go back to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot, take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel, you and Carl, take this tower."

"Alright." Carl tells him and they move to the opposite tower from Daryl, me and Carol

"I'll run for the gate." Rick says

Glenn, T-Dog, Maggie, and Beth draw the walkers by screaming, and kill them by stabbing them in the head through the fence. Lori opens the door for Rick. He runs towards the prison, shooting walkers who get in his way, at one point I see Carol almost shoot Rick by mistake.

"Sorry!" She yelled and Rick continued running, the walkers are drawn to Rick, but he manages to shut the gate. Then, he goes in the tower and closes the door, followed by all the walkers.

"He did it" Carol says

"Light it up!" Daryl tells us and we all start to shoot killing the rest of the walkers

"Fantastic!" Carol says as we all meet back up

"Nice shooting." Daryl said to her and she smiled

"Yeah."

"You okay?" I asked Lori moving over to her putting my hand on her belly

"I haven't felt this good in weeks."

We go in to the courtyard, "Oh! Oh, oh! We haven't had this much space since we left the farm!" Carol yells excitedly and I smile as Daryl put his arm around my shoulder kissing my head

"Wooooo!" T-Dog cheered and I looked at him with a smile

"Hey" I tell him and he looked at me then out at the woods seeing a couple walkers

"Sorry" He says with a smile as we all walk towards the prison

* * *

Later that night everyone except Daryl and Rick are sitting around a fire eating, "Mmmm… Just like mom used to make." Glenn says indicating to his food and I gave him a shove with a smile on my face and Maggie smiles. Lori eats and looks at Rick who's on watch next to the fence.

"Tomorrow, we'll put all the bodies together. We want to keep them away from that water. Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll uh have plenty of fresh water." T-Dog pointed out

"The soil is good, we could plant some seed, grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans." Hershel says and looked over at Rick, "That's his third time around. If there was any part of it compromised, he'd have found it by now." Hershel added and I grabbed the bowl of food I made Daryl and walked over to the over turned vehicle he was standing on. I stretched to put the bowl up and he grabbed my hand helping me get on top.

"That's not much, but if I don't bring you anything you won't eat at all." I tell him and he takes a few bites

"Guess little Shane over there's got quite the appetite." He said and I looked at him

"Don't be mean. Rick's gotten us a lot further than anyone thought he would, I'll give him that. Shane could never have done that." I mention looking down, it may have been 8 months but a part of me kind of missed Shane I guess, even though he did that to me at the CDC but still, I apologized to him and started to at least give him a second chance. None of that mattered now, now I was focused on keeping everyone safe, especially Lori who was pregnant with my neice or nephew. I was lost in thought and started to rub my shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"It's that rifle, the kickback. I'm just not used to it." I tell him and saw him lick his fingers and indicate for me to turn then he started to massage my shoulder.

"Better get back."

"It's pretty romantic. Want to screw around?" I asked him with a smirk

"Don't tempt me" He says and moves to get down, "I'll go down first"

"Oh even better"

"Stop" He says and gets down then I sit down and he grabbed my hips helping me down as I put my hands on his shoulders then suddenly he pressed into the under part of the vehicle pressing himself against me then kissed me passionately, I moaned into his mouth as his hands ran up my sides and he pulled away then started to kiss my neck.

"As much as I want to continue this, right now is not the time." I tell him and he groaned then kissed me again

"Sooner or later I'm gonna have you" He whispered in my ear

"Promises, promises" I tell him and winked then we headed back to the others

"Bethy, sing "Paddy Reilly" for me. I haven't heard that I think, since your mother was alive." Hershel tells her

"Daddy, not that one, please." Maggie tells him

"How about uh… Parting Glass?"

"No one wants to hear." Beth says and we look at her

"Why not?" I asked her as Daryl sat down behind me and wrapped his arms around me

"Okay. 'Of all the money e'er I had I spent it in good company And all the harm e'er I've ever done alas it was to none but me and all I've done for want of wit to memory now I can't recall so fill to me the parting glass good night and joy be with you all'" Maggie joins her in singing "'Oh, all the comrades that e'er I had were sorry for my going away and all the sweethearts that e'er I had would wish me one more day to stay But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise and you should not I'll gently rise and I'll softly call good night and joy be with you all good night and joy be with you all'"

"Beautiful." Hershel tells then and Glenn puts his hand on Maggie's leg, smiling.

"Better all turn in. I'll take watch over there, we've got a big day tomorrow." Rick tells us

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked

"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we gotta push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards or prisoners, looks like this place fell pretty early. Could mean the supplies may be intact. They have an infirmary, a commissary..."

"An armory?" I asked him

"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine, this place could be a gold mine!"

"We're dangerously low on ammo. We'll run out before we make a dent." Hershel points out to him

"That's why we gotta go in there. Hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance." Rick says and stands up then walked away but I followed him

"Rick" I said and he turned to look at me, "You doing ok?" I asked him

"Yeah."

"You and Lori?" I asked, over the past few months he was distancing himself from her after what happened with Shane. He kept quiet and I sighed, "Rick, you can't hold on to this, okay? She's pregnant with your baby and needs you right now."

"She told me what Shane did." He told me and I looked at him confused, "At the CDC."

"Oh," I looked down

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked

"What would it have changed? Lori told you and he was still with us"

"I thought I could give him another chance, everything seemed fine until the Randall thing" He said

"For what it's worth, if you wouldn't have killed him, I would have. No one threatens my brother but me." I joked and he lightly pushed me.

"Get some rest." He says and I walked back over to Daryl laying down on the ground falling asleep

* * *

Rick opens the door that leads to the courtyard, T-Dog enters and stabs a walker, Daryl, Rick, Maggie, me and Glenn enter as well, we all start stabbing walkers in the head staying with our backs facing each other in a circle. In the meantime, Hershel, Carl, Carol, Lori and Beth try to draw the walkers to the fence in order to stab them through the wire.

"Almost there." Rick tells us as we walk and see another courtyard filled with walkers, we hide behind a wall. Two walkers come dressed as guards, so they have helmets on, Daryl shoots at one but it bounced off the helmet, Maggie kicks one as I hit it with my machete. We keep trying to kill the guards but it's not easy with their helmets on, I kill another walker as Rick walks towards the courtyard filled with them in order to close it. He pushes a guard on the floor,"Daryl!" Daryl helps him kill the walkers on their way, and they manage to close the door of the courtyard.

Maggie kills one of the guards by stabbing him in the neck, Me, Glenn and T-Dog look at her impressed, "See that?" She asked and another one goes up to Glenn and T-Dog who kill it the same way Maggie did and so does Daryl.

Rick kicks a guard, takes off his helmet, and he takes off his skin as well, and stabs him in the head. Maggie kills another one, the courtyard where we are is now filled with bodies, "Stop." Rick tells Glenn as he started to the gate where the others were and we look around

"Looks secure." Glenn points out

"Not from the looks of that courtyard over there. And that's a civilian." Daryl tells him

"So the interior could be over run by walkers from outside the prison." I said

"Well, if there's walls, then, what are we gonna do? We can't rebuild this whole place." Glenn mentions

"We can't risk a blind spot. We have to push in." Rick tells us and we all walk towards a door leading to the prison. Daryl opens it and we wind up in an empty cell block and start looking out for walkers. Rick goes upstairs, then comes back down with keys and he opens the door leading to all the cells, and we walk in. Maggie and I see a dead prisoner in one of the cells. Daryl goes upstairs, Rick joins him, after it was all clear me, Maggie and Glenn go out to get the others.

"What do you think?" Rick asked us as we walk in

"Home sweet home." Glenn says and I chuckle

"For the time being." Rick adds

"It's secure?" Lori asked him

"This cell block is."

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked

"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria, and the infirmary."

"We'll sleep in the cells?" Beth asked

"I found the keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too."

"I ain't sleeping in no cage. I'll take the perch." Daryl tells us from up top and I shake my head smiling then head up the stairs, he takes a matteress from one of the cells and brought it out to the perch, I walked up the stairs and set my bag down next to his then laid down on the mattress, I didn't care how bad it reeked, I just cared about the fact that we now had shelter. I looked up at Daryl as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

* * *

"Not bad" Daryl says as we stand around a table looking at the weapons we gathered up from the walkers

"Flash bangs, CS Triple-Chasers. Not sure how they'd work on walkers, but we'll take them." Rick says and Daryl picks up a helmet with walker skin in it.

"I ain't wearing this shit." He says and I snorted

T-Dog picks up gloves in the same condition, "We could boil them."

"Ain't enough firewood in a whole forest, no! Besides, we've made it this far without them right?" Daryl asked lightly swinging a riot stick and Carol arrives.

"Hershel?" She asked and nodded her head to follow her

"Everything alright?" Rick asked her

"Yeah, nothing to worry about." She says and Hershel follows Carol into her cell.

* * *

T-Dog, Daryl, Carl, Rick, Hershel, Glenn, me and Maggie are preparing and arming ourselves, Daryl insisted I put on one of the riot vests so I agreed instead of arguing.

"You won't need that," I hear Rick say walking over to Carl taking the helmet off him, "I need you to stay put."

"You're kidding!"

"We don't know what's in there. If something goes wrong, you could be the last man standing. I need you to handle things here." Rick convinces him

"Sure."

"Great, let's go." Rick tells us and I knocked Carl's hat down a little, he laughed as he lifted it up looking at me then we leave.

* * *

We advance very carefully through the corridors where there are dead bodies on the floor. Glenn traces arrows on the walls so we can find our way back. Suddenly, we see a lot of walkers as we turn and go back running, followed by the walkers, "Go back, go back! Go back, move! This way!" Rick urges us and we start moving

"Where's Glenn and Maggie?" I asked looking back to see they weren't behind us anymore

"We have to go back!" Hershel tells us

"But which way?" Daryl asked and we open a door nearby very carefully and start searching for Glenn and Maggie.

"Maggie? Glenn?" Hershel quietly called and we made our way through the corridors, "Mag? Mag?" I hear him call and turned to see we walked away from us then suddenly I hear him scream, I go back and see a walker biting his leg and I kill it as Maggie and Glenn arrive.

"No! No, daddy! No!" Maggie cried, the walkers start coming on both sides. Rick and Glenn take Hershel and start running while supporting Hershel.

"Daryl!" Rick yells to him and he shoots an arrow at a walker and we try to move down the way we came but get cut off

"We're blocked!" I yelled and T-Dog pushes us back

"Get back, get back!"

We see a door, and manage to open it, "Get in, get in!" Daryl tells us pulling me into the room

"Oh, god! Oh god!" Hershel cries as me and Daryl secure the door so the walkers can't open it. Rick and Glenn lie Hershel down on the floor. Rick puts his belt on Hershel's leg to stop the bleeding, T-Dog tries to keep the door closed as I move over to help calm Hershel down.

"Hold him down! Alright. Only one way to keep him alive!" Rick takes an axe, and starts to cut off Hershel's leg, while Maggie and Glenn hold him down, Hershel passes out from the pain. Rick manages to cut off Hershel's leg, "Oh… He's bleeding out."

"Duck." I hear Daryl tell Rick who gets down and Daryl stands up pointing his crossbow and I stand up doing the same with my gun, we see 5 men standing behind a wall with a window

"Holy shit." One of them says

* * *

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl asked them moving over and I stay where I am still aiming my gun

"Who the hell are you?" One of them asked

"He's bleeding out, we gotta go back!" Rick says to us, "Come around here. Put pressure on the knee! Hard! Hard! Push, push!" He tells Maggie

"Come on out of here. Slow and steady." Daryl tells the prisoners and they come out

"What happened to him?" The one asked

"He got bit." Daryl tells him and the one reached for his gun

"Bit?" He takes his gun and T-Dog threatens him with his gun.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy now. Nobody needs to get hurt." Daryl tells them and the one who grabbed his gun looked at me but Glenn walked by me

"You got medical supplies?" He asked them walking into the room they came out of

"Whoa where do you think you're going?" The tall one asked him and the walkers are still trying to come in the room.

"Who the hell are you people anyway?" The one with the gun asked

"Don't look like no rescue team!" the older one asked

"If a rescue team's what you're waiting for, don't!" Rick tells him and Glenn comes out with a table to carry Hershel, "Come on, we gotta go! Now! Come on, I need a hand here!" Glenn and Rick put Hershel on the table, "One, two, three, go!"

"Holy Jesus!" The older prisoner said

"T, the door!" Rick tells him and he moved back to the door

"Are you crazy? Don't open that!"

"We got this." T-Dog tells him and opens the door killing a walker that comes in. The others get out of the room, carrying Hershel on the table.

"Daryl! Kate!" Rick yells at us and the one prisoner is still pointing his gun at us as we back away to the door and walk out.

* * *

"This way!" Rick tells us as we rush back through the corridor but see walkers coming down one, "No, no, no, no, back, back! Daryl!"

Daryl kills a walker then grabbed his arrow, "Come on!"

We continue to walk through and see the prisoners following us, "Stop, stop!"

"Follow the flashlight, come on let's go!" One of them shouts

"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Rick urged and we continue moving, Daryl opens a door and we're almost to our cell block. Maggie is still putting pressure on Hershel's knee.

"He's losing too much blood!"

"Open the door! It's Hershel! Carl, come on!" Rick yells to him and Carl opens the door then they rush in, I stay behind with Daryl, he gets his crossbow ready and I do the same with my gun pointing them at the door we came from as we hear footsteps approaching and the prisoners walk into the room.

"That's far enough." Daryl warns them and the first one looked at me

"Cell block C. Cell four, that's mine, gringo. Let me in." He tells Daryl

"Today's your lucky day, fellas. You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia, you're free to go."

"What you got going on in there?" He asked us

"Ain't none of your concern." Daryl tells him and the guy pulls his gun out of his pocket.

"Don't be telling me what's my concern."

"Chill, man. Dude's leg is messed up. Besides, we're free now! Why are we still in here?" The tall said to him

"Man's got a point." I mention

"Yeah, and I gotta check on my old lady." another prisoner said

"Group of civilians breaking into a prison you've got no business being in, got me thinking there ain't no place for us to go!" The guy with the gun said

"Why don't you go find out?" I asked him

"Maybe we'll just be going now." the older one says to him

"Hey, we ain't leaving!"

"You ain't coming here either!" T-Dog arrives with his gun aimed at the guy

"Hey, this is my house, my rules, I go where I damn well please!"

"There ain't nothing for you here, why don't you go back to your own sandbox!" Daryl says to them and Rick came over to us

"Hey, hey, hey! Everyone relax, there's no need for this."

"How many of you in there?" the guy with the gun asked Rick

"Too many for you to handle."

"You guys rob a bank or something? Why don't you take him to a hospital?" the main one asked

"How long have you been locked in that cafeteria?" Rick asked him

"Going on like ten months."

"A riot broke out. Never seen anything like it." The tal one mentioned

"Attica on speed, man." The older one added

"Ever heard about dudes going cannibal, dying, coming back to life? Crazy." Another one says

"One guard looked out for us, locked us up in the cafeteria, told us to sit tight, threw me this piece, said he'd be right back." The gun guy said

"And that was 292 days ago." The tall one points out

"94 according to my…" The older one started to say but Thomas cut him off

"Shut up!"

"We were thinking that the army or the national guard should be showing up any day now." The tall one mentioned

"There is no army." Rick tells them

"What do you mean?"

"There's no government, no hospitals, no police. It's all gone." I replied

"For real?" the older guy asked

"Serious." Rick says

"What about my moms?" The tall one asks

"My kids, my old lady!" The other one says, "Yo, you got a cell phone or something so we can call our families?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Daryl asked them

"No phones, no computers. As far as we can see, at least half the population's been wiped out. Probably more." Rick pointed out

"Ain't no way." The main one said

"See for yourself." Rick tells him and started to lead them outside when Daryl stopped me

* * *

"Damn, the sun feels good." The one prisoner says as we walk out the door

"Good Lord, they're all dead." The older man pointed out

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see these fences." Gun says

"You never said. How the hell did you get in here in the first place?" One prisoner asked

"Cut a hole in that fence over there by the guard tower." Daryl told him

"That easy, huh?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way." I add

"Easy for you to say." One of them says and the tall guy pokes one of the bodies with a stick.

"So what is this like a disease?" He asked

"Yeah, but we're all infected." Rick tells them

"What do you mean, infected? Like AIDS or something?" the older one asked

"If I was to kill you, shoot an arrow in your chest, you come back as one of these things. It's gonna happen to all of us."

"Ain't no way this Robin hood cast's responsible for killing all these freaks." gun guy mentioned and I snorted, if he only knew

"Must be fifty bodies out here." the small one said

"Where do you come from?" Gun guy asked

"Atlanta." Rick answered

"Where you headed?" Gun guy asks him

"For now, nowhere."

"I guess you could take that area down there near the water. Should be comfortable." Gun guy told him and I shook my head

"We're using that field for crops."

"We'll help you move your gear out." He tells us ignoring Rick

"That won't be necessary. We took out these walkers, this prison is ours."

"Slow down, cowboy." Gun guy tells him

"You snatched the locks off our doors." The small one says to Rick

"We'll give you new locks, if that's how you want it."

"This is our prison. We were here first." The main guy said

"Locked in the broom closet? We took it, set you free, it's ours, we spilled blood." Rick argued

"We're moving back into our cell block, the girl can stay in mine with me." The gun guy says looking at me and Daryl moved forward but I held him back

"You'll have to get your own." Rick says to him

"It is mine. I've still got personal artifacts in there, that's about as mine as it gets!" He pulls his gun out, Daryl aimed his crowwbow at him and I raised my gun.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, maybe let's try to make this work out so everybody wins!" The older man says trying to calm us down

"I don't see that happening." Gun guy points out

"Neither do I." Rick adds

"I ain't coming back into that cafeteria for one minute."

"There are other cell blocks." The older guys mentioned

"You could leave. Try your luck out on the road." I tell them

"If these four pussies can do all this, the least we can do is take out another cell block." Gun guy said to the others

"With what?" The tall one asked him

"Atlanta here will spot us some real weapons. Won't you boss?"

"How stocked is that cafeteria? Must have plenty of food, five guys lasting almost a year?" Rick asked

"It sure as hell don't look like anybody's been starving." Daryl adds

"There's only a little left." The main guy tells Rick

"We'll take half. In exchange, we'll help clear out a cell block."

"Didn't you hear him? There's only a little left!" The small one argues

"Bet you've got more food than you've got choices. You pay, we'll play. We'll clear out a block for you, then you keep to it." Rick tells them

"Alright." Gun guy says to him

"Well, let's be clear. If we see you out here, anywhere near our people, if I so much as even catch a whiff of your scent, I will kill you." Rick warned him

"Deal."

* * *

"Pantry's back here!" Tomas says leading us to the cafeteria to check out how much food is left

"You never tried to break out of here?" T-Dog asked

"We tried to take the doors off. But if you make one peep in here, then those freaks will be lined up outside the door growling, trying to get in. Windows got bars on them that he-man couldn't get through." Oscar answered, we learned their names on our way bock down

"Bigger than a 5x8." Axel adds

"You won't find me complaining. Doing fifteen. My left leg can barely fit on one of those bunks." Big Tiny mentioned

"Yeah, they don't call him Big Tiny for nothing." Oscar pointed out

"You're done jerking each other off? I'm getting sick of waiting back here." Tomas tells us and I shook my head as we walked into the pantry and saw a bunch of food

"That's what you call a little bit of food?" Daryl asked Tomas moving over to him shining hs light around then moved past him

"Goes fast." Thomas says to him

"Mm-hmm."

"You can have a bag of corn, some tuna fish." Tomas tells Rick and I scoffed a little

"We said half. That's the deal." Rick says and moved over to a cooler door, "What's in there?"

"Don't open that." Big Tiny warned him but Rick opens the door, and the smell in the room is so bad he gags and I follow as the smell reached me

Thomas and his group laugh, "You wanted to know!" Tomas tells him and Rick shut it

"Can't wait for my own pot to piss in." Axel says

* * *

"Food's here!" T-Dog called into the block and Carl comes and opens the door

"What you got?" Carl asked him

"Canned beef, canned corn, canned cans! There's a lot more where this came from!" T-Dog answered and I shook my head smiling as we brought it into one of the cells

"Any change?" Rick asked Lori as we came back out

"Bleeding is under control and no fever, but his breath is labored, his pulse is way down and he hasn't opened his eyes yet."

"Take my cuffs, put them on him. I'm not taking any chances." Rick tells Glenn who reluctantly takes them

* * *

"Why do I need this, when I've got this" Tomas asked showing his gun and I rolled my eyes

"You don't fire guns. Not unless your back's up against the wall. Noise attracts them, really riles them up." Daryl answered from next to me

"We'll go in three by two by two. Daryl will run point with Kate and T, I'll bring up the rear with you," Rick points to Andrew, "Stay tight, hold formation, no matter how close the walkers get. Anyone breaks ranks, we could all go down, anyone runs off, they could get mistaken for a walker, end up with an axe to the head."

"And that's where you aim. These things only go down with a head shot." I tell them

"Ain't gotta tell us how to take out a man." Tomas says with a smirk and I rolled my eyes again as Daryl glared at him

"They ain't men. They're something else." T-Dog points out

"Just remember, go for the brain." Rick tells them and we head out

* * *

The prisoners and us are walking slowly through the corridors in order to see if there is any walkers, "Man, it's too damn dark in here!" Big Tiny says

"Gotta hold it up high out in front of you." I tell him indicating his axe, "You're gonna hear 'em before you see 'em."

Just then we hear growling, "It's coming!" Axel yells

"Shhh!" Rick says and we see the walkers shadow on the wall coming towards us and Daryl stops us

Before we can do anything, the prisoners run towards the walkers, screaming, and start to attack them by aiming somewhere else than in the head.

"You wanna taste me?" Axel stabs the walker in its stomach and we look at the prisoners failing to kill the walker.

* * *

"It's gotta be the brain!" Daryl tells them as we walk through the other corridor, "Not the stomach, not the heart, the brain!"

Another walker arrives, "I hear you, the brain." Axel says and Oscar stabs the walker in the head, but more arrive.

"Like that?" He asked Daryl

"Uh-uh."

Axel and Rick kill two walkers, "Stay in tight formation, no more prison riot crap!" Rick tells them and more walkers come, the prisoners start killing them and I stabbed the one that came through the door then we hear screaming and move back round the corner to see that Big Tiny was scratched, Rick killed one of them and Tomas shot the other, I looked between him and Rick.

"I'm telling you! I don't feel anything, it's just a scratch!" Big Tiny tells us as Rick looked at it

"I'm sorry man…"

"I can keep fighting!" Big Tiny defended

"You cut that old guy's leg off to save his life!" Axel says

"Look at where the bite is." I tell him

"Guys, I'm fine! Just… I'm fine. Look, look at me, I'm not changing into one of those things." Big Tiny pleaded

"Look, man, there's gotta be something we can do, we could just lock him up!" Oscar says

"Quarantine him!" Axel adds

"We gotta do something! Why are you just standing there, we gotta save him!" Andrew yelled at us

"There's nothing we can do." Rick tells him

"You son of a bitch!"

"I'm al…" Big Tiny started to say but Tomas stabs him in the head, and continues stabbing him with a hammer. His face is full of blood as he stands up and looks at all of us and he walks away.

* * *

"You see the look on his face?" Daryl asked Rick about Tomas

"He makes one move…"

"Just give me a signal." Daryl tells him as we reach the entrance of the cell block

We arrive in a room which contains a set of two doors leading to the cell block where the prisoners would live. Daryl gives Tomas the keys, "I ain't opening that." Tomas tells him

"Yes, you are. If you want this cell block, you're gonna open that door. Just the one, not both of them. Because we need to control this." Rick tells him and we hear the walkers behind the door.

Tomas picks up the keys, "You bitches ready?" He asked and tries to open the door, but it won't open, "I got this." He opens both doors and walkers come in.

"I said one door!" Rick yells at him

"Shit happens!"

We all start killing the walkers and at one point I look over at Rick who is by Tomas. When stabbing a walker, Tomas almost stabs Rick too, on purpose. He then sends a walker on Rick, who falls on the ground.

"T, mind the gap!" Daryl yells and I grab the walker killing it and saving my brother then helped him up.

After we killed all the walkers I look at Daryl who nods at me and I get my machete ready standing behind Tomas just to be sure

"He was coming at me, bro!" Tomas says to Rick

"Yeah… Yeah, I get it. I get it. Shit happens." Rick tells him then quickly raised his machete and brought it down on his head killing him

"No!" Andrew yells and tries to attack Rick with a baseball bat, but Rick kicks him, and Daryl threatens him with his crossbow.

"Easy now." Daryl warns him and Andrew runs away, Rick follows him, while Daryl, me and T-Dog stay in the room with Axel and Oscar. "Hey, get down on your knees!" Daryl tells Oscar who kneels down

"We don't have no affiliation to what just happened! Tell him, Oscar!" Axel pleads

"Stop talking man."

* * *

"We didn't have nothing to do with that." Oscar tells Rick who's pointing his gun at him

"You didn't know? You knew! Daryl, let's end this now!" Rick points his gun at Axel's face, and Daryl puts his knife on Oscar's neck.

"Sir, please, please listen to me! It was them that was bad! It wasn't us!" Axel begged

"Oh, that's convenient!" Rick says to him

"You saw what he did to Tiny! He was my friend! Please! We ain't like that! I like my pharmaceuticals, but I'm no killer! Oscar here, he's a B and E and he ain't very good at it neither! We ain't the violent kind, they were! Please! Please, I swear to god! I wanna live!"

Rick goes back to Oscar pointing his gun at his head, "What about you?"

"I ain't never pleaded for my life. And I ain't about to start now. So you do what you gotta do."

* * *

We bring the prisoner's to their cell block, Rick and Daryl push Axel and Oscar inside and there are bodies everywhere.

"Oh man! I knew these guys, they were good men." Axel says

"Let's go." Rick tells Daryl as I stand by the door with T-Dog

"So you're just gonna leave us in here? Man, this is sick!" Oscar says to him

"We're locking down the cell block. From now on, this part of the prison is yours. Take it or leave it, that was the deal."

"You think this is sick? You don't wanna know what's outside." Daryl adds

"Consider yourselves the lucky ones." Rick mentioned

"Sorry about your friends man." Daryl says to Axel

"Word of advice : take those bodies outside and burn them." T-Dog tell them and we leave.

* * *

"Hershel stopped breathing, mom saved him." Carl tells Rick as we walk back into our cell block

"Still no fever." Lori adds and I stand next to her

Hershel opens his mouth, Maggie sits next to him and we all look at him as he opens his eyes. "Daddy?" Maggie asked

"Daddy! Daddy!" Beth says going down next to him and she laughs, Rick takes Hershel's cuffs off. Hershel grabs Rick's hand, we all smile and I hug Lori who returned it and she leaves the cell then Rick follows.

I head up to an empty cell and change my clothes, when I was done there was a knock on the wall, I turned and saw Daryl, "Doin' okay?"

"Yeah" I lied and grabbed my water that I used for washing and grabbed a rag, "You should change, you smell like ass" I tell him and he pushed me

"Think your funny?"

"I know I'm funny, just one of the reasons you fell for me." I tell him with a smirk and he walked over to mebacking me into the wall

"That ain't the only reason" He says and I wrap my arms around his neck as he kissed me deeply, I put my fingers in his hair and he gripped my hips, it was driving me crazy that we haven't had a private moment to ourselves in 8 months, every time we did we would have to move again.

"I am all for continuing this but the other's are not far away from us."

He sighed and kissed me once more, "Guard tower?" He asked kissing my neck

"Maggie and Glenn are gonna do watch tonight."

He grumbled, "Tomorrow."

"It's a date" I tell him and kissed him then he left.


	9. Chapter 9

**We are the Walking Dead**

 **A/N: I wanna thank elljayde for pointing out a couple of mistakes I made in chapter 8, I honestly thought when Daryl said little Shane he was referring to Carl lol and as far as Lori and Rick go I forgot on one of my chapters to add a Rick POV for that when Lori was talking to him about Shane so I hope the beginning of this chapter will clear it up. Thank you again to everyone who is enjoying this story and following it, it means a lot to me.**

"Hey," I said to Lori walking into her cell seeing her sitting on her bed, "You ok? Need anything?" I asked her and she shook her head then sniffled, "What's wrong?" I asked sitting next to her.

"I don't know what to do to get Rick to talk to me."

I sighed and looked at the wall across from us, "Okay what happened with you two? You seemed fine before..."

"I told him, told him about what Shane did to you at the CDC"

"I know he told me" I said to her and she grabbed my hand

"I'm sorry Kate, I wanted hm to know what kind of person Shane was becoming, how I was scared for you, Rick, Daryl...I told him he needed to do whatever it took to keep us safe from him." She told me and I closed my eyes, "But then when he told me he killed Shane I lashed out at him, I didn't mean to and I don't know why I just..."

"Never thought he would do that.." I finished for her and she nodded her head, "Hold on." I said then walked out of the cell seeing Rick standing with Daryl talking, "Rick," I called and he looked at me, "Can you come here?" I asked and he nodded to Daryl then walked over to me.

"What's up?"

"Just come here" I tell him and we both walked into the cell Lori was in, "Ok, I want you two to stand here and talk until you work this out. I'll even stay here."

"There's nothing to..."

"Rick, I love you but shut up." I say cutting him off, "Look, what Lori wanted was the safety of our group. She feared for her family but you..." I pointed at him, "You blame her for getting angry at you after you confessed to killing Shane." I said and he looked at her, "We never thought you would do something like that so yeah, she got upset and quiet frankly I did too but you can't hold that against her, not now, not when she is close to having your baby. So now what I want you two to do is stay here, talk and not come out until you put this behind you because I'll be damned if my niece or nephew comes into this world with it's parents fighting." I said and they looked at me then looked at each other.

"Okay" Rick says and I nodded then left.

"Everything ok?" Daryl asked me as I walked over to where we had our mattress on the perch.

"Just playing marriage counselor that's all." I smiled and he pulled me to him

"I believe I owe you a date in the guard tower" He says and I giggled

"Well I think that can be arranged." I said and he grabbed my hand then we made our way to the guard tower.

* * *

"Alright, let's get the other cars in. We'll park 'em in the west entry of the yard." Rick tells us the next day as me and Carol walk over from moving a couple cars

"Good. Our vehicles camped out there look like a giant "vacancy" sign!" Daryl says and I shook my head

"After that, we need to load up these corpses so we can burn them." Rick adds

"It's gonna be a long day…" T-Dog pointed out and I slung my arm around his shoulder

"Oh you wimp!" I tell him and he poked my side causing me to jerk and I punched him in the arm

"Where's Glenn and Maggie? We could use some help." Carol asked

"Up in the guard tower." Daryl says and I looked at him with a smirk

"Guard tower? They were just up there last night!" Rick mentioned and we look at the top of the guard tower.

"Glenn! Maggie!" Daryl calls and Glenn comes out of the tower, he has no shirt on and is buttoning his pants.

"Hey! What's up guys?"

We all laugh at the sight of Glenn, "You comin'?" Daryl asked and I smacked his arm at the his comment while smiling

"What?" Glenn asked confused and we keep laughing

"You comin'?" Daryl asked again, "Come on, we could use a hand!" He tells Glenn

"Yeah, we'll be right down!"

We walk toward the cars, still laughing, "Very mature." I tell him and he wrapped both his arms around my shoulders from behind as we continued walking

"Hey Rick!" I hear T-Dog tell him and I followed where he was looking, Rick stops smiling immediately when we see the two prisoners Axel and Oscar out of their cell block, walking towards us

"Come with me." Rick tells us and we walk with him over to them, "That's close enough. We had an agreement."

"Please, mister. We know that, we made a deal. But you gotta understand! We can't live in that place another minute, you follow me? All the bodies, people we knew! Blood, brains everywhere! There's ghosts!" Axel pleaded

"Why don't you move the bodies out?" Daryl asked him

"You should be burning them." T-Dog adds

"We tried! We did!"

"The fence is down on the far side of the prison. Every time we drag a body out, those things just line up. So just dropping a body and just running back inside." Oscar mentioned

"Look! We had nothing to do with Thomas and Andrew, nothing! You trying to prove a point? You proved it, bro! We'll do whatever it takes to be a part of your group, just, please, please, don't make us live in that place!" Axel begs

"Our deal is not negotiable. You either live in your cell block, or you leave." Rick tells them

"I told you this was a waste of time. They ain't no different than the pricks who shot up our boys." Oscar says to Axel and looked at us, "You know how many friends' corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw 'em out like…Those were good guys! Good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in the joint like Thomas and Andrew. Now, we've all made mistakes to get in here, chief, and I'm not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me… we paid our due. Enough that we would rather hit that road, than to go back into that shit hole." He defended and Rick looks at Daryl who says no with his head.

* * *

Daryl locks them back inside and walked over to us, "Are you serious? You want them living in a cell next to you? They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons, you want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?" Rick asked T-Dog as he tried to change Rick's mind

"I never stopped. Bring them into the fold. If we send them off packing, we might as well execute them ourselves." He tells him

"I don't know, Axel seems a little unstable." Glenn pointed out

"After all we've been through? We fought so hard for all this, what if they decide to take it?" Carol asked

"It's just been us for so long…they're strangers. I don't… it feels weird all of a sudden to have these other people around." Maggie pointed out

"You brought us in." T-Dog tells her

"Yeah, but you turned up with a shot boy in your arms, didn't give us a choice"

"They can't even kill walkers!" Glenn says

"They're convicts, bottom line!" Carol added

"Those two might actually have less blood on their hands than we do." T-Dog pointed out

"I get guys like this. Hell, I grew up with them. They're degenerates, but they ain't psychos. I could have been with them just as easy as I'm out here with you guys." Daryl mentioned and he brought up a good point

"So you with me?" T-Dog asked him

"Hell no! Let 'em take their chances out on the road, just like we did!"

"What he's saying, Daryl…" I started to say but Rick cut me off

"When I was a rookie, I arrested this kid. Nineteen years old, wanted for stabbing his girlfriend. The kid blubbered like a baby during the interrogation, during the trial, suckered the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence, and in 2 weeks later shot another girl. We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands."

"Move the cars to the upper yard. Point them facing out. They'll be out of the way but ready to go if we ever need to bail." Rick tells us and Daryl tossed his keys to Glenn, "We'll give the prisoners a week's worth of supplies for the road." He tells T-Dog

"Might not last a week." T-Dog pointed out

"Their choice!"

"Did they really have one?" T-Dog asked him

"Hey! Hey, whose blood would you rather have on your hands? Maggie's, Glenn's, or theirs?"

"Neither." T-Dog replied and the others are moving the cars to another place.

"Twin cylinder, is that a Triumph?" Axel asked Daryl who was standing at his bike

"Don't even look at it." Daryl tells him gets on starting it up

"Didn't want it bored out? Sounds like it could use a tune-up, I'm pretty handy with the grind! Heads are leakin'! I know my bikes!" Axel yells at us as he leaves and I get into Shane's old car and follow

* * *

Carol locked the gate then her, me, Maggie and T-Dog started moving cars while Glenn, Daryl and Rick went out to the field.

I get out of the truck I backed up and see Lori, Beth, Carl and Hershel walking outside and I smile.

"All right Hershel!" I hear Glenn yell from the other side and I looked over at him then smiled at Daryl.

"Walkers! Look out!" Carl yelled and we see a bunch of them going to where they were at, Maggie and I ran to the others.

"Kate!" I hear Daryl yell as I shoot a walker

"Get out of there! Go!" Rick yelled, I made our way over to one of our cell block as I see Maggie go behind a door with Hershel and Beth.

"Lori! Here!" I tell her, then her and Carl both ran over to me and we went in and headed to our cell block but got cut off when walkers walked out of it.

"This way!" I tell them standing by Carl while Lori was in the back and we headed to the doors of the corridors and I closed the gate.

* * *

We make our way through the corridors as while an alarm keeps going off and I see Lori lean on the wall and grunts, I move over to support her, "Can you keep up?" I asked her

"Something's not right…"

"Are you bit?" Carl asked

"No, no, no, no, no. I think the baby's coming!"

"Oh shit" I said

"Mom?" Carl asked and we hear walkers coming

"No, there's no time!" I tell him as he was about to shoot them and we try to walk as fast as possible. Walkers arrive on the other side of the corridor.

"In here!" Carl tells us opening a door and we go inside then Lori leans on a wall and grunts in pain and I look at each Carl

"What are those alarms?" Lori asked in pain

"Don't worry about that." I tell her

"What if it attracts them?" Carl asked and I put my hand on his shoulder

"Lori, let's lay you down." I say to her

"No, the baby's coming now."

"We have to go back to our cell block to have Hershel help!" Carl brings up

"We can't risk getting caught out there, you're gonna need to give birth to this baby here." I say to Lori

"Great." Lori is panting in pain.

"What is she doing, can't she breathe?" Carl asked

"She's fine." I reassured him, "Come here, let's get your pants off." I tell her and unbuckled her pants then help her lay down, "You're gonna need to help deliver your baby brother or sister, you up for it?" I asked Carl taking Lori's pants off and he nodded, "Let me do an exam to see if your dilated."

"Do you know how?" Carl asked me

"Hershel taught me, but trust me, it's my first time," I say and try to examine Lori, "I can't tell…"

"I gotta push." Lori tells me and stands up with my help, I support her as she pushes and I stay down in case the baby comes out, "Somebody!" Lori strained, "I'm okay, I'm okay… I'm okay."

"You're doing great, Lori. Just keep doing it. Your body knows what to do. Let it do all the work." I reassured her, "You're doing great." She pushed again, "Lori, stop, don't push, something's wrong!" I yell and Lori screamed, I pull my hand away and look at the blood that's on it

* * *

"Mom? Mom, look at me, look at me, keep your eyes open!" Carl tells her as we lay her on the floor

"We have to get you back to Hershel." I said

"I won't make it."

"Lori, with all this blood, I don't even think you're fully dilated yet, no amount of pushing is gonna help." I mentioned

"I know what it means, and I'm not losing my baby. You've gotta cut me open." Lori says and I look at her

"No, I can't."

"You don't have a choice." Lori tells me

"I'll go for help." Carl said

"No!" Lori yells to him

"Look, Carol's the one that practiced that, Hershel only taught me the steps Lori, if I…" I started to say

"Please…" Lori begged me

"I have no anesthetic, no equipment…"

"Carl has a knife" Lori says

"You won't survive." I add trying to hold back tears

"My baby has to survive… Please…My baby, for all of us… Please, Kate! Please." She begs and I try to fight back the tears and shake my head no, "Please…"

"See my old C-section scar?" Lori asked me as I lift up her shirt to look at it

"I can't." I said crying

"You can. You have to." She tells me and I look down, "Carl? Baby, I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right. Now you-you take care of your daddy for me, all right? And your little brother or sister, you take care…" Lori tells him

"You don't have to do this."

"You're gonna be fine…you are gonna beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave! And I love you." She says and they start crying

"I love you too."

"You gotta do what's right, baby. You promise me, you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So don't… so if it feels wrong, don't do it, all right? If it feels easy don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you. You're so good! You're my sweet boy! The best thing I ever did! I love you! I love you. You're my sweet, sweet boy, I love you." Lori says with her voice breaking and Carl hugs her as I fail to hold my tears back, "Okay… okay, now. Okay. Kate, when this is over, you're gonna have to…"

"Shh…"

"No, you have to do it, it can't be Rick." Lori tells me and grabbed my hand, "You were the best sister I could ever have asked for Kate, please, please take care of them, their gonna need you." She says, talking about Carl, Rick and this baby.

"Lori.." I started to say but I stopped as she squeezed my hand

"Alright, alright, it's alright. It's alright…" Carl gives me his knife, "Goodnight, love."

"I'm sorry…" I tell her then cut Lori open following her old scar, she starts screaming from the pain.

"You're killing her!" Carl yells at me and Lori's head falls and her eyes close, she dies.

"Carl, give me your hands." I tell him, "Keep the site clean, okay? I cut too deep, I'm gonna cut the baby. Okay…Okay, come on, I see it, I see the ears. I'm gonna pull it out." I said reaching inside trying to feel around, "I can't tell if this is the arm or the leg." I point out, "Okay, I'm gonna pull the baby out." I pull it out but it doesn't move or scream, I tried tapping its foot then moved it so it was laying face down in my arms and I tapped it's back. Finally, it works and the baby starts crying. Carl gives me his vest to put on the baby and I wrapped it up

"We have to go." I tell him and I look down at Lori

"Well, we can't just leave her here, she'll turn." Carl tells me and I try to get my gun out while holding the baby, "No..." Carl says and I see his gun

"Carl…" I started to say

"She's my mom." He says and I look at him then Lori, after a moment I leave with the baby

I open the door, and see walkers in the corridor, so I go back in. As I make my way back down I hear a gun shot then Carl walks out moving past us, tears run down my face then I followed him.

* * *

"Daryl and Glenn, you come with me…" I hear Rick say as we walked out of the entrance, Rick turns around, I open the gate and we enter the courtyard. I slowly walk forward crying unable to say a word looking at my brother then Daryl puts his crossbow down and comes over to me as I lose it crying into his shoulder while holding my niece Rick moves towards us, "Where is…where is she?" He asked and I see him try to go back in the prison, but I stop him.

"No, Rick, don't!"

He starts crying, and looks at Carl, "Oh no…. No! No!" Rick continues to cry and Daryl pulls me him and I cry into his shoulder again.

* * *

"Rick, you with me? Rick?" Daryl asked and Rick just looked out into space

"Let me see the baby." Hershel tells me and I bring her over to him

"We're gonna feed it. We got anything a baby can eat?" Daryl asked

"The good news is she looks healthy. But she needs formula. And soon, or she won't survive."

"No. No way. Not her. We ain't losing nobody else. I'm going for a run." Daryl says putting his crossbow over his shoulder

"I'll back you up." Maggie tells him

"I'll go too." Glenn adds

"Okay, think where we're going. Beth." Daryl pulls her aside whispering something to her, "You two get the fence, to many pile we got ourselves a problem." He says to Oscar and Axel, "Glenn, Maggie vamanos" He says and Rick grabbed his ax then ran back inside

"Rick!" I yelled after him but he kept going

"Get the gate." Daryl says, "Come on, we're gonna lose the light." He says to Maggie and Glenn then walked over to me, "I'll be back, I promise" He says and I nod, then he kissed my head and walked away.

* * *

I was sitting next to Carl later that night holding my niece trying to calm her down when Daryl and Maggie walked in, Daryl puts his crossbow down, "How's she doing?" He asked me reaching for her and I put the baby in his arms, "Shh. I'm sorry. Shh..." Beth walked back over and handed him a bottle and he tries to give it to her, "She got a name yet?" Daryl asked Carl

"Not yet. But I was thinking maybe Sofia. Then there's Carol, too. And...Andrea. Amy. Jacqui. Patricia. Or... Lori. I don't know." He says and I put my hands on his shoulders and looked at Daryl as he fed the baby

"You like that? Huh? Little ass-kicker. Right?" He asked looking at us with a smile and I shook my head, "That's a good name, right? Little ass-kicker. You like that, huh? You like that, sweetheart?" He asked in a soft voice, watching him hold her and feed her made me fall for him even more.

* * *

We all sat around the next morning eating cold oatmeal, not very good oatmeal but can't be to picky nowadays, I looked over at Carl who was just looking into his bowl, "Hey buddy, you need to eat." I tell him rubbing his back and he picked up his spoon but didn't do anything.

"Everybody okay?" Rick asked walking into the room from the corridors

"Yeah, we are." Maggie tells him and he walks over to us

"What about you?" Hershel asked him

"I cleared out the boiler block."

"How many were there?" I asked

"I don't know. A dozen, two dozen. I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl." He says lightly patting Carl on the back

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies. You don't have to." Glenn tells him standing up

"No, I do. Everyone have a gun and a knife?" He asked Daryl walking over to him

"Yeah. We're running low on ammo, though."

"Maggie, Glenn and me were planning on making a run this afternoon. Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula." I tell him and Daryl looked at me, he wasn't to happy about me wanting to go on this run, but I needed to do this, I promised Lori.

"We cleared out the generator room. Axel's there trying to fix it in case of emergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well." Daryl adds

"Good, good." He says heading back to the door and shuts it

"Rick" Hershel called after him but nothing

* * *

"We just hit the powdered formula jackpot." Glenn says walking out with a few more things

"Oh, thank God." I tell him grabbing some stuff and putting it them in the truck

"I also got beans, batteries, cocktail wieners, many mustards. It's a straight shot back to the prison from here. Probably make it in time for dinner." He tells me and put the other stuff in there as I grabbed the basket with formula

"I like the quiet. Back there, back home, you can always hear them outside the fence no matter where you are." Maggie pointed out

"And where is it y'all good people are calling home?" We hear someone say behind us and I drop the basket taking out my gun.

"Merle?" I asked

"Wow!" He exclaimed putting his gun down and started to come closer to us

"Hey, back the hell up!" Maggie yells at him still holding up her gun

"Okay, okay, honey. Jesus."

"You made it." Glenn mentioned

"Can you tell me, is my little brother alive? Huh?" He asked Glenn

"Yeah." Glenn replied and he smiled and sighed in relief

"Hey, you take me to him and I'll call it even on everything that happened up there in Atlanta. No hard feelings. Huh?" He asked and I glanced at his hand, well the metal thing that was covering where his hand used to be, "You like that? Yeah. Well, I found myself a medical supply warehouse. Fixed it up myself. Well, pretty cool, huh?"

"We'll tell Daryl you're here and he'll come out to meet you." Glenn says to him

"Hold on. Just hold up." He tells us and started to move forward

"Whoa. Whoa."

"Hold up here. Hold up. Hey, the fact that we found each other is a miracle. Come on, now. You can trust me." He begs

"You trust us. You stay here." Glenn tells him and he chuckled then after a pause he reached and grabbed a gun from his pants and shot at the truck, me and Glenn both ducked out of the way then moved around the truck seeing Merle on the ground holding Maggie with his gun pointed at her

"No! Hey, hey, hold up, buddy, hold up."

"Let go of her. Let go of her!" Glenn yells at him as we point our guns at him

"Put that gun in the car. Put it in the car, son. You too sweet cheeks." Glenn puts the gun in and raised his hands then I did the same, "There you go. Now we're gonna go for a little drive."

"We're not going back to our camp." I tell him

"No, we're going somewhere else. Get in the car, Glenn! You're driving! Move!"

"Don't." Glenn pleaded to him while Merle still held the gun to Maggie

"Get up." Merle tells her and we get in the truck and Glenn started it driving off, not knowing where we were headed.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Rick. Who the hell is this?" I asked coming out of the cell block

"You wanna tell us your name?" Rick asked her but she stayed quiet, "You wanna tell us your name?" He asked again but she just looked at him

"Y'all come on in here." I tell the others and Rick stood up

"Everything all right?"

"You're gonna wanna see this." I said, they followed me and looked into the cell I was standing at where Carol was sitting

"Oh, God." She says slowly standing up and hugged Rick

"Thank God. Thank God. Thank God." Rick says hugging her

"How?" Hershel asked as she hugged him as

"Solitary."

"Poor thing fought her way into a cell. Must have passed out. Dehydrated." I told the, and Beth walked over with the baby. Carol looked at the baby then Rick, he didn't say anything just gave a small nod and tears form in Carol's eyes and Rick started to cry as well

"I'm sorry. Oh, God." She says and walked over to the baby

* * *

"We can tend to that wound for you, give you a little food and water, and then send you on your way. But you're gonna have to tell us how you found us and why you were carrying formula." Rick tells the woman as me and him walked out of the block over to her

"The supplies were dropped by a young Asian guy with 2 pretty girls." _Kate_ I thought to myself and looked at Rick

"What happened? Were they attacked?" Hershel asked her

"They were taken."

"Taken? By who?" I asked

"By the same son of a bitch who shot me."

"Hey, these are our people. You tell us what happened now!" Rick says and pushed on her wound

"Don't you ever touch me again!" She yells standing up and I raised my crossbow

"You'd better start talking. You're gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound." I warned her

"Find 'em yourself."

"Hey, shh, shh, shh. Put it down." Rick told me, "You came here for a reason." He said to her

"There's a town. Woodbury. About 75 survivors. I think they were taken there."

"A whole town?" Rick asked

"It's run by this guy who calls himself the Governor- pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type."

"He got muscle?" I ask her

"Paramilitary wannabes. They have armed sentries on every wall."

"You know a way in?" Rick asked

"The place is secure from walkers, but we could slip our way through."

"How'd you know how to get here?" Rick asked her

"They mentioned a prison, said which direction it was in, that it was a straight shot."

"This is Hershel, the father of the girl who was taken. He'll take care of that." Rick tells her pointing to her wound and we walked away

* * *

"How do you know we can trust her?" Oscar asked

"This is Maggie, Kate, and Glenn. Why are we even debating?" Beth asked as well

"We ain't. I'll go after them." I tell them, I'm not losing Kate

"Well, this place sounds pretty secure. You can't go alone."

"I'll go." Beth says

"Me, too." Axel added

"I'm in." Oscar says as well

"I got the flash bangs and I got the tear gas. You never know what you're gonna need." I told the others as we loaded up and I walked over to Carol, "Stay safe" I tell her

"9 lives remember?" She says holding the baby, "Bring them back" She tells me and I nodded then got on my bike and we left

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

I was sitting in a room of a warehouse I do believe looking around while trying to undo my hands when the door opened, "Well looky here." Merle says walking in then pulled up a chair sitting across from me, "The Army chick who was doin' the cop." He said and I rolled my eyes, he may be Daryl's brother but he still took us and not 5 minutes ago I heard him beating Glenn up.

"That's right, thanks to your fellow officer I'm the proud owner of this." He says holding his metal arm up

"I'm sure what my brother-" I started to say but stopped and looked at him, not even realizing that I had slipped up until it came out.

"Whoa, hold on. You're officer friendly's sister?" He asked and I looked at him then nodded, "Well how about that?" He chuckled, "So...how's my baby brother doing?" He asked me changing the subject

I wondered to myself if I should tell him me and Daryl are together or not, I mean would it give me an advantage or no?, "He's ok, he's a pretty valuable member of our group now." I tell him and he nodded his head

"So, since we're sitting here bonding and everything, you and the rest must have a decent set up going."

"We do" I answered

"Mind telling me where it's at? I just wanna see my brother" He says and I almost feel my heart break for him, Daryl misses him even though he doesn't want to admit it. I can relate too, all that time I thought Rick was dead then it turned out he wasn't. I couldn't do it though, I can't let these people know where my family is, my nephew, my newborn niece.

"I can't, I'm sorry."

"Hmm..well then I guess I'll let someone try to convince you." He tells me standing up

"Merle," I said and he looked at me, "Just so you know, Daryl, he really did try to look for you, when he came back after finding...your hand, he was pretty broken up even though he didn't show it."

"Except to you huh?" He asked sitting on the edge of the table in front of me but I stayed quiet. He grabbed the chair and moved it closer to me then sat back down, "You two bumping uglies?" He asked and I just looked at him staying quiet then he laughed, "You are ain't ya. Whoa!" He said while laughing, "My baby brother is getting' it on with officer friendlies sister, how 'bout that." He chuckled and I rolled my eyes, "Well then this practically makes us family, and I don't hurt family, especially Daryl's girl." He tells me and stood up, "I can't say the same for the guy coming in next" He says and walked out, I sighed then tried to undo my hands again.

* * *

Like Merle promised, the next guy that came in wasn't so nice, this one had no problem hitting a woman, but I can take it.

"All right, that's enough. Bring her." I hear another guy say from the doorway and the guy who was hitting me undid my hands from the chair, covered my head and stood me up making me walk

"On your feet! Move!" I hear another guy yell I can only assume to Maggie or Glenn or both, we continued walking when there was a loud bang and the guy holding me let go but then I feel another pair of hands grab me and my hood gets removed revealing Daryl, I sighed in relief and we moved getting out of the building and hid inside another one.

"Inside, quick" Rick tells us and we head into another building and Glenn fell to the floor, Maggie knelt down next to him then Daryl pulled me into a hug then looked at me

"Are you okay?" He asked looking at my face

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I tell him and he kissed my head and walked away then Rick came over and hugged me.

"Ain't no way out back here." Daryl pointed out as he looked for an exit and I knelt down next to Glenn and Maggie

"Rick, how did you find us?" Maggie asked him

"How bad are you hurt?" Rick asked Glenn

"I'll be all right."

"Where's that woman?" Maggie asked

"She was right behind us." Rick answered and looked out a window

"Maybe she was spotted." Oscar mentioned

"Want me to go look for her?" Daryl asked Rick

"No. We gotta get them out of here. She's on her own."

"Daryl, this was Merle. It was. He did this." Glenn told him I looked at Daryl as he walked over

"You saw him?" He asked him

"Face to face. Threw a walker at me. He was gonna execute us."

"S-So my brother's this governor?" Daryl asked

"No, it's somebody else. Your brother's his lieutenant or something." I replied as Glenn put on a sweatshirt Maggie handed him

"Does he know I'm still with you?" Daryl asks

"He does now. Rick, I'm sorry. We told him where the prison was. We couldn't hold out." Glenn told him

"Don't. No need to apologize."

"They're gonna be looking for us." Maggie pointed out

"We have to get back. Can you walk? We got a car a few miles out." He asked Glenn

"I'm good."

"All right." Rick says and helps Glenn stand up

"Hey, if Merle's around, I need to see him." Daryl said to Rick

"Not now. We're in hostile territory."

"He's my brother. I ain't-" Daryl started to say but Rick cut him off

"Look at what he did! Look, we gotta- we gotta get out of here now."

"Maybe I can talk to him. Maybe I can work something out." Daryl argued

"No, no, no. You're not thinking straight. Look, no matter what they say, they're hurt. Glenn can barely walk, Kate got beat up. How are we gonna make it out if we get overrun by walkers and this governor catches up to us? I need you." Rick tells Daryl, "Are you with me?" He asked, Daryl and I shared a look before Daryl looked at Rick.

"Yeah." Daryl replied and we got ready to head out, Daryl handed me my gun and I checked the clip.

"On three, stay tight," Rick tells us as Daryl held a flash bang, I stayed by Maggie and Glenn helping to hold him up, "One, two, three" Rick says and opened the door, Daryl threw it out

"Hey over there!" Someone yelled

"Let's go" Rick says and we made our way out the door after it went off

"There they are" A guard on the wall said and Rick shoots at him killing him, Daryl shoots another one and shots go off behind us

"Behind you!" Daryl yelled and we both shot in that direction

"Go! Get cover! In there!" Rick tells us as we make our way over to a building ducking behind the pilars, "How many?" Rick asked Oscar

"I didn't see"

"Don't matter there's gonna be more of them" Daryl pointed out

"We need to move" I add and reached around Maggie shooting at the men

"Any grenades left?" Rick asked Daryl

"Uh huh"

"Get them ready. We got to gun it to the wall" Rick told us

"You guys go ahead I'm gonna lay down some cover fire" Daryl says and I look at him

"No we gotta stay together" I tell him

"Too hairy, I'll be right behind you"

"Well I'm not letting you do it alone" I said to him

"Kate..."

"This isn't up for debate" I argued reloading my gun

"Fine but you stay by me" He says and I nod my head, "Ready?" He asked the others and threw a smoke grenade, the others made their way to the wall while me and Daryl stayed behind a bench firing at the other shooters. Daryl reloads and I kept firing.

"Daryl! Kate!" Rick yells at us

"Go!" Daryl told him and started shooting again then everything went black

* * *

I didn't know what was going on, Daryl and I got covers put over our heads and I hear a bunch of people talking, "What can I say?" I hear someone ask as the people stop talking, "Hasn't been a night like this since the walls were completed. And I thought we were past it- past the days when we all sat, huddled, scared in front of the TV during the early days of the outbreak. The fear we all felt then, we felt it again tonight. I failed you. I promised to keep you safe. Hell, look at me. You know, I- I should tell you that we'll be okay, that we're safe, that tomorrow we'll bury our dead and endure, but I- I won't, because I can't. Because I'm afraid. That's right. I'm afraid of terrorists who want what we have. Want to destroy us! And worse... because one of those terrorists... is one of our own. Merle..." the guy says and I stop struggling against the person holding me, "The man I counted on, the man I trusted. He led 'em here. And he let 'em in. It was you. You lied, betrayed us all." I heard him tell Merle and the person holding me started making me walk, "These are two of the terrorists. Merle's own brother" I hear him say and the cover gets taken off my head, "And one of their friends" The man said and I see Merle standing there in the middle of, well whatever it was and I looked at Daryl who was next to me, "What should we do with them, huh?" The man asked everyone and I look over and saw Andrea watching us in shock.

"Kill them!" The crowd yells

"What? What you want?" The guy asked again

"Kill them! Kill them!"

"You wanted your brother. Now you got him." The man said to Merle who looked at Daryl as I stood there struggling.


	10. Chapter 10

**We are the Walking Dead**

"Philip." I hear Andrea say and I look at her as she gets held back by someone

"Stay out of this."

"Their my friends." She begged him

"It's not up to me anymore. The people have spoken." He tell her

"What?"

"I asked you where your loyalties lie. You said here. Well, prove it. Prove it to us all. Brother against brother." The Governor announced and someone pulled me away from them

"Daryl!" I yelled and he moved to me but someone pushed him back to where Merle was

"Winner goes free. Fight to the death." The Governor says

"Phillip please, don't do this. Don't do this" Andrea pleaded and I looked at her then back at Daryl.

"Let's go, Merle!"

"Come on, Merle!"

"Yeah, Merle!"

People cheered and he held up his arm, "Y'all know me. I'm gonna do whatever I got to do to prove..." He says and punched Daryl in the gut, I struggled agaisnt the person holding me back, "That my loyalty is to this town!" He yells and kicked Daryl, he continued beating Daryl when just then I hear snarling and 4 people walked out with walkers, the person holding me moved me over as they walked into the middle with the walkers and I struggled more as Daryl punched Merle in the face, Daryl went to get up and go after Merle but he brought Daryl to the ground.

Merle lifted Daryl up and they faced back to back looking at the walkers, Merle hit one and shoved it down, Daryl punched one as well moving it into the crowd

Just then there were gunshots and the walkers go down and everyone screamed, then I see a smoke grenade land in the middle and the gun shots took out the lights, "Kate!" Daryl yelled and I whipped my head back hitting the guy holding me in the face then smoke covered the area before I could get to Daryl. One of the walkers came at me and I held it back but then it got pulled off me and thrown to the ground, I see Merle standing there

"Come on!" He yelled and I moved over to him and Daryl who grabbed my hand

"Stay close!" He tells us and we make our way out of the middle trying to find the others

"Merle, come on" Daryl tells him

"Go" Merle told us

We see a light flash at us and I see a guy shoot a walker with Daryl's crossbow, then Daryl moves up to him and grabbed it then I punched the guy in the face, "Let's go!" Daryl says

* * *

We got out on the other side of the wall and continued running, "They're all at the arena. This way." Merle told us

"You're not going anywhere with us." Rick says and I look at him

"You really want to do this now?" Merle asked him and started kicking at a part of the wall and going through

"Come on, man. Rick, come on. We've got to go." Daryl told him and we follow

I see Merle smashing a walkers skull in with the metal thing on his arm, "A little help would be nice." Daryl shoots one then Rick and Maggie do as well

"We ain't got time for this." Merle tells them and I follow him as he ran

"Let's go." Daryl tells them grabbing my hand and we make our back to the woods

TWD

"Glenn!" Rick yells at him as we get to the car they brought here

"Rick. Rick. Rick. Oh, thank God."

"Now we got a problem here. I need you to back up." Rick says to him

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Glenn yelled as him and a woman I never met before moved to Merle and she drew her sword but Rick stepped in front of her

"Hey, hey, hey! Hey, put it down!" Daryl yells at her stepping away from me in front of Merle

"He tried to kill me!"

"If it wasn't for him-" Glenn started to tell Daryl

"He helped us get out of there."

"Yeah, right after he beat the shit out of you." Rick tells Daryl

"Hey, we both took our licks, man." Merle says

"Jackass." Daryl grumbled over his shoulder at him

"Hey, shut up."

"Enough! Hey, hey, relax! Put that down now!" Rick tells Michonne

"Get that thing out of my face!" Daryl warned Glenn

"Man, look like you've gone native, brother." Merle says to him

"No more than you hanging out with that psycho back there."

"Oh, yeah, man. He is a charmer, I got to tell you that. Been putting the wood to your girlfriend Andrea. Big time, baby." Merle says and I looked at at him in shock

"What? Andrea's in Woodbury?" Glenn asked

"Right next to the Governor." Merle answered and the woman moved forward with her sword again

"I told you to drop that!" Rick tells her

"You know Andrea?" He asked her and she didn't say anthing, "Hey, do you know Andrea?"

"Yep, she does. Her and blondie spent all winter cuddling up in the forest. Mm-mmm-mmm. Yeah. My Nubian queen here had two pet walkers. No arms, cut off the jaws, kept them in chains. Kind of ironic now that I think about it." Merle tells us and I look at him

"Shut up Merle" Daryl told him

"Hey, we snagged them out of the woods. Andrea was close to dying." He says

"Is that why she's with him?" Maggie asked him

"Yeah. Snug as two little bugs. So what you gonna do now, Sheriff, huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cowards."

"Shut up!" Rick yelled at him

"Oh, man, look at this. Pathetic. All these guns and no bullets in them."

"Merle, shut up!" Daryl yelled at him

"Shut up yourself! Bunch of pussies you roll-" Merle started to say but Rick clipped him in the back of the head knocking him out

"Asshole." Rick says and I looked at Daryl

* * *

"It won't work." Rick tells Daryl

"It's gotta." Daryl argued

"It'll stir things up."

"Look, the Governor is probably on the way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks and we could use the muscle." Daryl tell him

"I'm not having him at the prison." Maggie says

"Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol or Beth?" Glenn asked

"He's not a rapist." Daryl told him

"Well, his buddy is." Glenn says and Daryl looked at me but shook my head

"They ain't buddies no more. Not after last night." Daryl mentioned

"There's no way Merle's gonna live there without putting everyone at each other's throats." Rick tells him

"So you're gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?"

"She's not coming back." Rick said

"She's not in a state to be on her own." Maggie tells him

"She did bring you guys to us." Glenn adds

"And then ditched us."

"At least let my dad stitch her up." Magie tells him

"She's too unpredictable."

"That's right. We don't know who she is. But Merle, Merle's blood." Daryl pointed out

"No, Merle is your blood. My blood, my family is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison." Glenn tells us

"And you're part of that family. But he's not. He's not." Rick says

"Man, y'all don't know. Fine. We'll fend for ourselves." Daryl tells them and looked at me

"That's not what I was saying." Glenn tells him

"No him, no me."

"Daryl, you don't have to do that." I told him

"It was always Merle and I before this." Daryl said

"Don't." I begged him and he grabbed my hand

"Come with me" He says and I looked at him confused

"You serious? You're just gonna leave like that?" Glenn asked him

"You'd do the same thing." He told him looking away from me

"What do you want us to tell Carol?" Glenn asked him and I looked at Glenn

"She'll understand." Daryl answered and looked at me, "Kate?"

"I...I want to, I do but Rick's right this guy could be on the way to the prison and I have to be there to keep the baby and Carl safe." I tell him and he nodded his head then looked at everyone

"Say good-bye to your pop for me." Daryl tells Maggie walking away

"Daryl, are you serious?" Glenn asked him and I walked with Rick following him

"Daryl!" Rick yelled, "Hey. Hey. There's got to be another way."

"Don't ask me to leave him. I already did that once." Daryl says to Rick

"We started something last night. You realize that, huh?"

"No him, no me" Daryl repeated and I looked at him, "That's all I can say. Take care of yourself. Take care of lil ass-kicker. Carl. He's one tough kid."

"Daryl..." I said and he pulled me into a kiss then I wrapped my arms around him

"I'm gonna come back I promise." He tells me then moved my face to look at him, "I love you" He says and I looked at him in shock

"You have horrible timing." I tell him and he chuckled

"It's true though, has been for awhile."

"I love you too" I tell him and he kissed me again then walked into the woods up to Merle looking back at me then they left.

* * *

I sat in the back of the car with my head leaning against the window lost in thought, that was the first time we ever said those words to each other, I always felt love for him and wanted to say it so many times but I held back in case it made him uncomfortable for some reason. I was taken out of my thoughts when we pull up to the prison and I see Carol open the gate then Carl opened the other. Me and Rick got out and I ran to her.

"Thank god," I told her through tears as she hugged me

"Drive 'em up. I'll meet you there." Rick told Maggie and I saw Carol trying to look in the car as it drove up

"Where's Hershel?" Rick asked Carl

"He's in the cell block."

"Where's Daryl?" Carol asked me

"It's all right. He's alive. We..um ran into his brother. They went off."

"He left? Daryl left? He's gone? Is he coming back?" She asked

"Hey." I tell her pulling her into a hug, "It's ok." I reassured her and we all headed up to the prison

"And Oscar?" Carl asked and Rick shook his head

"No."

* * *

We walked into the prison heading into our cell block when I saw 4 people who I didn't know sitting at one of the tables, I looked at Carol confused and she nodded her head as we walked inside. I headed up the stairs to mine and Daryl's cell, I finally managed to convince him to stay in one. I changed my clothes then headed back down to the others.

* * *

Carol was cleaning out an old box for mail when Beth walked up the stairs holding Judith and I walked over with blankets then indicated for her to hand me my niece which she did and I smiled at her.

"You've got a knack for that." Carol told Beth

"Just trying to do my part."

"Sophia used to wake the neighbors. 3AM. Like clockwork. Ed stayed at a friend's most nights till she calmed down." She says

"Carl used to do the same thing. Every night when I would watch him, 3AM on the dot." I said smiling looking down at Judith, "I always managed to calm him down by reading him a book, specifically Shakespeare"

"I always wanted a child." Beth says

"You better wait on that one" I tell her nudging her shoulder and she smiled

"She wouldn't have made it if Daryl hadn't been here. He couldn't stand to lose anyone else." Beth mentioned to Carol

"Sounds like him."

"I don't see why he had to leave. Merle sounds like a jerk." Beth says

"Men like Merle get into your head. Make you feel like you deserve the abuse." Carol told her

"Even for Daryl?"

"I'm hardly the woman I was a year ago, but if Ed walked through that door right now breathing and told me to go with him, I'd like to think I'd tell him to go to hell." Carol says

"We're weak without him." Beth pointed out as Carol grabbed the blankets I brought out and put them in the bottom of the box

"We'll get through this, too. Tyreese and his friends seem capable."

"I'm pissed at him for leaving." Beth says

"Don't be. Daryl has his code. This world needs men like that." I tell her and walked over to the box as Judith started to fuss, "Oh it's ok, you're ok" I comforted and put her in the box, "There." I said and she calmed down

"She fits perfect." Beth pointed out

"Yeah. Wait. You cozy in there?" I asked her and she grabbed my finger putting it in her mouth, I smiled at her and Carol put her hand on my shoulder

"I'm so sorry Kate." She says and I gave her a small smile

"Thanks Carol." I said and looked back down at my niece

* * *

Later that night I sat on the steps next to Beth as she held Judith, I saw Carol walk over to Axel and put her hand on his arm, "Whenever Tomas went off, Oscar always stood up for me, you know? He was my friend."

"He went out fighting." Rick reassured him as Beth and I walked over to them

"So what now? You think the Governor will retaliate?" Beth asked

"Yes." Maggie answered

"Let him try." Glenn added

"Sounds like he's got a whole town. We're outnumbered and outgunned." I pointed out

"We could use some reinforcements." Hershel says to Rick and we walk out of the cell block to the lunch area where Tyreese and the others were

"I'm Tyreese." He says to Rick holding out his hand but Rick just looked at him

"Sasha, Allen, Ben." Hershel introduced the others

"How'd you get in?" Rick asked Tyreese

"Fire damage to the administrative part of the prison. Wall's down."

"That side's completely overrun with walkers. How'd you get this far?" Rick asked

"We didn't. We lost our friend Donna."

"They were lost in the tombs." Carl tells Rick

"You brought them here?"

"He had no choice." Hershel says to him

"I'm sorry about your friend. We know what that's like." Rick tells Tyreese

"Hershel said you could use some extra hands. We're no stranger to hard work. We'll go out and get our own food, stay out of your hair. You got a problem with another group, we'll help with that, too. Anything to contribute."

"No." Rick tells him after a pause

"Please. It's like "10 Little Indians" out there. It's just us now." Sasha begged him

"No."

"Let's talk about this. We can't just keep-" Hershel started to say but Rick cut him off

"We've been through this. With Tomas, Andrew. Look what happened."

"Axel and Oscar weren't like them." I told Rick

"And where's Oscar now? I can't be responsible."

"You turn us out, you are responsible." Tyreese tells him

"Rick." Hershel says and Rick walked over to him

"You've done so much for us. I appreciate that. We all do. We owe you our lives. We've done everything you asked without question. And I'm telling you, you're wrong on this. You've got to start giving people a chance."

Rick looked at him then all of us and sighed patting Hershel on the shoulder then I see him look up at the catwalk, "No, no. No, no, no, no. No. No, no, no, no, no. Why are you here? What do you want from me?" He asked to nobody

"Dad?" Carl asked and I put my hand on his shoulder

"Why are you- no. I can't help you. Get out!" Rick yelled walking over to Tyreese and them

"Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"Get- get out!" Rick yelled again and I pulled Carl behind me then stood in front of him and Beth who was holding Judith.

"Hey, come on. Whoa, it's all good." Tyreese says to him

"What are you doing?" Sasha asked

"Hey, easy, Rick. There's no need to-" Maggie started to say

"You don't belong here! Get out!" Rick yelled turning to her then grabbed his gun, I put my hand on my gun just to safe, "Please!"

"Relax, brother. Relax." Tyreese says to him

"Get out! Get out!"

"We'll leave. We're going. Okay? Ain't nobody got to get shot here. We're going." Tyreese says to him and they grab their stuff

"What are you doing here?!"

"Okay, we're going."

"Just go! Go! Go!" Glenn tells them and they run

"Rick...put it down" I tell him and he looked at me as I kept my hand on my gun then he looked back up at the catwalk, after a moment he put his gun back in his holster and I took my hand off of mine and walked over to him, "Why don't you go get some rest, you had a long day" I tell him and he looked at the floor then headed into the cell block. I sighed and looked at Hershel then made my way to Rick's cell, "Rick," I said and he looked at me, "What is going on with you?" I asked and he looked down.

"I keep seeing Lori." He says and I walked over to him, "After...after it happened, when I went to where she...I heard a phone ring. I answered it, thinking it was another person on the other line. They said..they said that they had a camp, I begged them to consider taking us. Turns out no one was there, I was talking to Lori." He says and I closed my eyes looking down, "And Shane." He added and I looked at him, "I miss her Kate. I miss her so much." He told me and I pulled him into a hug and he cried into my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Rick" I whisper to him

"Thank you, for what you did. I never got a chance to say it."

I gave him a small smile, "I love you big brother"

"I love you too"

"Get some rest, change your clothes. You look like shit" I said and he nudged me then I left heading to my own cell to get some sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**We are the Walking Dead**

"Now you said you found Tyreese's group here?" Glenn asked Carl as they knelt down looking at the chalk drawing on the ground

"Yeah."

"We secured this." Glenn tells him

"He thought he came through here." Carl indicated to the drawing

"Means there's another breach. Okay. The whole front of the prison is unsecure. If walkers just strolled in, then it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men."

"Why are we even so sure he's going to attack? Maybe you scared him off." Beth pointed out

"He had fish tanks full of heads. Walkers and humans. Trophies. He's coming." Michonne told us

"We should hit him now." Glenn says

"What?" I asked him

"He won't be expecting it. We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head."

"We're not assassins." Carol tells him and Glenn got up then walked over to Michonne

"You know where his apartment is. You and I could end this tonight." Glenn tells her and she stayed quiet, "I'll do it myself." He adds and she sighed then nodded her head

"Okay."

"He didn't know you were coming last time and look what happened. You were almost killed. Daryl was captured. And you, Kate and Maggie were almost executed." Hershel says to him

"You can't stop me."

"Rick would never allow this." I told Glenn

"You really think he's in any position to make that choice?"

"Think this through clearly. T-Dog lost his life here. Lori, too. The men that were here. It isn't worth any more killing. What are we waiting for? If he's really on his way, we should be out of here by now." Hershel tells him

"And go where?"

"We lived on the road all winter." Hershel points out

"Back when you had two legs and we didn't have a baby crying for walkers every four hours."

"We can't stay here." Hershel argued

"We can't run." Glenn says and Maggie turned then walked back into the cell block, "All right. We'll stay put. We're gonna defend this place. We're making a stand. Carl, you and I will go down to the tombs. We need to figure out where the breach is." Glenn tells him

"You got it."

"You'll need some help." Michonne says to Glenn

"No, in case anything happens, I need you out here." He told her and looked at all of us "Who's on watch?" He asked then stood up, "Damn it" He says and walked away

* * *

"The tombs outside the boiler room are overrun again." Glenn tells us as him and Carl walked back in and Beth closed the door

"That whole section had been cleared." She tells him

"It's a steady stream of walkers." Carl says

"We're wasting time. The Governor is supposedly on the way and we're stuck in here with walkers." Hershel mentioned

"Trapped between a rock and a hard place." I added

"For the last time, running is not an option." Glenn tells us

"Glenn, if the tombs have filled up again, it may just be a matter of time before they push in here." Carol told him

"Or until some fence gives way." Beth adds

"Or if one of them herds is passing through? Or settled?" Axel asked

"Can't handle that with just the few of us." I told Glenn

"Okay. All right, we need- we just need to scout the far side of the prison. Find out what's going on."

"You're going out there?" Hershel asked him

"Take a car and make it quick."

"I'll drive." Axel says to him

"No, you stay here. Help with the fortifications. I'll take Maggie."

"You sure she's up to that?" I asked him and he sighed then walked into the cell block

* * *

I was sat on the small bleachers out in the court yard next to Beth and Carl when I saw Axel walk up to Carol and tap her on the opposite shoulder and she looked at him, I chuckled and continued loading my clip when suddenly a gun shot goes off and I see Axel fall to the ground, "Carl!" I yelled ducking behind the bleachers and they run over to me as the gunshots continue then I see Carol use Axel's body to shield her, "Carl get Beth to the wall now!" I tell him and they ran to the side of the building as I covered them then moved over to some file cabinets that were in the yard

"Beth!" I hear Maggie yell and she ran outside with 2 guns and handed one to her then made her way over to me and I covered her when the guy in the tower continued shooting, both me and Maggie shot at him so Carol could get to cover and she ran over to Carl and Beth, "Maggie" I tell her and we switched guns then I aimed it at the tower getting the guy in the scope and shot him. Just then we hear a truck approach and we look up to see it smash through our gate into the field then just sit there. The ramp on it drops down and walkers come out then I noticed Hershel was in the field, "Where's Glenn?" I asked Maggie and she shook her head.

I looked out into the field seeing the Governor drive away as Glenn pulled through with the truck and see Rick fighting off walkers. We all went to the gate and opened it then started killing the walkers as Glenn headed to the field to get Hershel. I see Rick get pinned at the fence by two walkers, then suddenly I see Daryl and Merle come out of the woods and Daryl shoots a walker while Merle runs to Rick getting the other one, I smiled then shot another walker. and we headed back into the courtyard as Glenn pulled in.

* * *

"Daryl" I said running over to him as they came through the gate and jumped into his arms, he hugged me back and I sniffled

"Told ya I'd come back" He says and I smiled then kissed him, "Are you okay?" He asked me and I kissed him, "I'll take that as a yes." He said with a smile and I pulled away from him and ran to Rick hugging him which he returned

"Are you ok?" I asked him and he nodded then we look at the field that was now filled with walkers

* * *

"We're not leaving." Rick says as we all gathered in our cell block

"We can't stay here." Hershel tells him

"What if there's another sniper? A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds." Maggie adds

"We can't even go outside." Beth pointed out

"Not in the daylight." Carol says

"Rick says we're not running, we're not running." Glenn said to us

"No, better to live like rats." Merle said from the other room on the other side of the gate that Rick locked him in

"You got a better idea?" Rick asked him

"Yeah, we should have slid out of here last night and lived to fight another day. But we lost that window, didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now."

"We ain't scared of that prick." Daryl tells him from next to me leaning on the railing

"Y'all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to."

"Let's put him in the other cell block." Maggie says twisting her bandana on her wrist

"No. He's got a point." Daryl defended

"This is all you. You started this." Maggie tells Merle

"What difference whose fault it is? What do we do?" Beth asked

"I said we should leave. Now Axel's dead. We can't just sit here." Hershel tells us and Rick started to walk away, "Get back here!" Hershel yelled standing up making me jump a little, "You're slipping, Rick. We've all seen it. We understand why. But now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy. Now you have to own up to that. I put my family's life in your hands. So get your head clear and do something." Hershel told huim and Rick walked away, I looked at him as he went.

* * *

I made my way through the catacombs of the prison checking for any unsecured points when I hear a quiet noise behind me, I looked back but I didn't see anything so I kept moving forward until I heard it again so I went back the way I came looking down the hall but I didn't see anything then when I went to back up I bumped into something and screamed but saw Daryl standing there smirking, "Damn it Daryl you about gave me a heart attack." I said laughing after I smacked his chest

"Just wanted to keep you on your toes." He says and pulled me to him into a kiss

"What are you doing down here?"

"Checking on you, making sure you're ok" He mentioned and I wrapped my arms around his neck

"I'm ok, I have you"

"Can I ask you what happened, at Woodbury?" He asked me and I gave a small sigh and pulled away from him.

"Well I was pretty much tied to a chair listening to Merle beat Glenn up in the next room, I didn't know what was going on with Maggie. Merle came in, talked to me, I wouldn't tell him where this place was and he pretty much figured out that you and me are together."

"Did he hit you?" He asked

"No, no it wasn't him, said that I was practically family and he doesn't hurt family." I tell him and he nodded, "The next guy who came in however was not so shy on the whole hitting women thing." I added and he walked over to me

"I'm sorry, should never have let you go."

"Don't blame yourself, like I told you, I had to it for Judith...for Lori." I said and he pulled me to him again

"If that prick would've laid a hand on you I would stop at nothing to make him pay."

"Daryl..."

"I mean it," He says cutting me off, "I don't want anyone other then me touching you like that, you're my girl and my girl only. I'm the only one that gets to do this," He says and started kissing me, "And this," He kissed me again moving his lips down my neck and I moaned leaning my head back giving him more access, "And...this," He said and pressed me up against the wall behind me then wrapped my legs around him as his hands grasped my waist, I pressed my lips against his in a hungry kiss, I pulled away biting his lip and he growled pushing his body into me more where I was able to feel all of him and I moaned feeling the bulge in his pants press into me. I needed him, absolutely, needed him.

We both grabbed at each other's clothes, pulling them off until the offending clothes were thrown to the floor, "Daryl," I groaned against his lips as I began to grind against him, feeling his hard member growing against me.

"Say you want me" he growled in my ear.

I dug my nails into his back holding on, "I want you." I whispered in his ear and he kissed me then shoved his tongue in my mouth. I moaned into the kiss and he gripped my thighs as I tangled my fingers in his hair. I felt him smile into the kiss then he moved his lips away from my mouth and made their way down my chin to my neck, he bit my neck lightly which caused me to groan and move my head back allowing him more access. As his hand wondered up to my breast squeezing them I moved my hand from his hair lightly running my nails down his chest then I undid the button of his pants and put my hand in wrapping it around his member and he bucked his hips gripping my thighs even harder.

"Oh fuck Kate" He groaned in my ear and I got even more turned on hearing him pant and give a small moan as I moved my hand then bit the side of his neck. He growled then put me down and we worked on each others pants then he lifted me again and pushed into me.

Using the wall to keep me up Daryl shifted me so he could push into me deeper and harder. I let out a sound that was between a moan and a scream as we trusted against each other grabbing everything we could to feel each other, our hands moving over every inch of each others skin. We couldn't get enough of each other.

His thrusts were long, and hard, then he began to pick up the speed, pumping in and out of me like an animal. My nails dug into his back, his fingers gripped onto my thighs then moved to my bottom and gripped there as well causing me to moan. The hall was filled with the sound of our moans and groans saying each others names over and over. Nothing else existed at that moment. Nothing else mattered.

"Daryl," I moaned, my head falling back to rest against the wall. He grunted in response, reaching over to press his lips to my neck, biting me there as he worked us to our climax.

I was close to mine because of the way my insides began to buzz coming alive with every stroke and every thrust. He touched every spot that made my nerves go crazy and my core clench, pushing me that much closer to the edge every time he moved.

Daryl used the wall to keep me up while his free a hand slid down to the spot between my legs that caused me to come undone as soon as he began to rub it.

"Say my name." He growled in my ear

"Daryl." I managed to get out.

"Again."

"Daryl!" I screamed and pushed back, arching into him as the scream erupted, a scream of pure bliss. Everything in my body hummed as my orgasm took over my senses. I felt a rush of ecstasy and euphoria rush through me. Nothing felt as incredible as the feeling of Daryl bringing me over the edge.

As I rode the orgasm out, Daryl wasn't too far behind. I felt his thrust become uneven before he twitched, emptying himself inside me, pushing me over the edge once more.

It took a moment before we were both come down, I leaned forward to rest my head on his shoulder. He leaned forward as well, pressing a kiss to my neck. Our bodies were covered in sweat, our clothes were surrounding us on the floor.

"I love you." He managed to say and I used my hand to lift his face up to look at me

"I love you too, more then you know." I responded and he kissed me once more then put me down and we got dressed.

TWD

"Take watch. Eyes open, head down." Rick tells Maggie handing her the keys, "Field's filled with walkers." He adds placing a gun in the cell Glenn was in and Daryl walked down the steps, "I didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Kate on watch." He finished walking over to me, Hershel, Daryl and Michonne.

"I'll get up in the guard tower, take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance to fix the fence." Daryl tells him

"Or use some of the cars to put the bus in place." Michonne suggested

"We can't access the field without burning through our bullets." Hershel adds and Glenn walked over

"So we're trapped in here. There's barely any food or ammo." He says

"Been here before. We'll be all right." Daryl tells him

"That's when it was just us. Before there was a snake in the nest."

"Man, we gonna go through this again? Look, Merle's staying here. He's with us now. Get used to it." He tells Glenn and I put my hand on his arm

"Daryl..."

"All ya'all!" Daryl says and walked away up the stairs

"Seriously, Rick, I don't think Merle living here is really gonna fly." Glenn tells him

"I can't kick him out."

"I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you." Glenn says

"Merle has military experience. He may be erratic, but don't underestimate his loyalty to his brother." Hershel told Glenn

"What if we solve both problems at once? Deliver Merle to the Governor. Bargaining chip. Give him his traitor, maybe declare a truce."

"You do that and Daryl will leave and I will too. Glenn I know this makes you angry but Merle is Daryl's brother, his family. Just gonna have to learn to get along sooner or later. Like Daryl said, Merle's with us now." I told him and walked away

* * *

"What cha doing buddy?" I asked Carl walking out to the walkway bridge as he stood there looking through binoculars

"Keeping watch for snipers"

"I should find you some comic books or something" I tell him and he continues looking out at the field, "Listen Carl. I know it's been hard for you without your mom around," I crouch down next to him putting my hand on his shoulder and he looked at me, "I am sorry, that we lost her, now I know I can't replace her but I'm always here for you if you need anything, same goes for Judith. I love you both and I'll do anything I can to keep you both."

"Thank you aunt Kate." He says and I hug him

"I love you buddy"

"I love you too" He replied and I looked out at the field

"Want some company?" I asked him and he nodded his head, I stand up and he looked back out into the field as I walked over to the other end.

"Psst." He whispered and I looked at him, "Something weird out there." He says and I lifted my rifle up looking through the scope

"Andrea." I whispered to him, "Get your dad and the others." I tell him and he headed back inside

* * *

Daryl, Rick, Merle, Beth and Michonne run out the block entrance with guns looking out where Andrea was walking up and I ran down to join them raising my rifle up.

"Go" Rick said to Merle who moved forward and looked around

"Clear!"

We all move forward as well, Glenn and Carol came out too as Andrea neared the gate, "Are you alone!" Rick asked her leaning against the fence

"Open the gate"

"Are you alone?!" He asked again and I see walkers starting to go towards her, Rick throws Daryl the keys and he unlocked the gate then Merle opened it and she let go of the walker she was holding and ran inside, "Hands up! Turn around!" Rick tells her

"What?"

"Turn around now!" He yelled at her putting her face to the fence and started patting her down then a walker goes against the fence and she screamed, "Get down on the floor" He continued patting her down, "I asked if you were alone"

"I am" She replied and he took her bag from her and threw it aside as me and Carl walked over

"Welcome back" Rick says and helped her stand

* * *

We walked back inside and Andrea walked down the steps hugging Carol, I walked down the steps and stood by Daryl who sat on the table, "After you saved me, we thought you were dead."

"Hershel, my God." Andrea says and they pulled away, "I can't believe this. Where's Shane? And Lori?" She asked and I looked down as Daryl put his hand on my back.

"She had a girl. Lori didn't survive." Hershel says

"Neither did T-Dog." Maggie added

"I'm so sorry. Carl. Rick, I- You all live here?" She asked us

"Here and the cell block." Glenn told her

"There? Well, can I go in?"

"I won't allow that." Rick says

"I'm not an enemy, Rick."

"We had that field and courtyard until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up." Rick pointed out

"He said you fired first."

"Well, he's lying." Rick said

"He killed an inmate who survived in here." Hershel mentioned

"We liked him. He was one of us." Daryl added

"I didn't know anything about that. As soon as I found out, I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out."

"That was days ago." I told her

"I told you, I came as soon as I could. What have you told them?" She asked Michonne

"Nothing."

"I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out?" Andrea asked

"He almost killed Michonne and he would have killed us..." Glenn started to say

"With his finger on the trigger." She cut him off pointing at Merle, "Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you? Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done." She says, "But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out."

"There's nothing to work out. We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will." Rick tells her

"We can settle this. There is room at Woodbury for all of you."

"You know better than that." Merle says to her

"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate? Did he say that?" Hershel asked her

"No."

"Then why did you come here?" I asked

"Because he's gearing up for war. The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack."

"I'll tell you what. Next time you see Philip, you tell him I'm gonna take his other eye." Daryl said

"We're taken too much shit for too long. He wants a war? He's got one." Glenn says to her

"Rick. If you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town. Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."

"You want to make this right, get us inside." Rick tells her

"No."

"Then we got nothing to talk about." He says and walked away

"There are innocent people."

* * *

Glenn drove one of the prison cars through the gate to give Andrea for her drive back and I walked away over to Daryl, "Can you spare it?" She asked Rick

"Yeah" He answered and she looked around to all of us

"Well take care" She says getting in then drove to the gate and Merle let her out

* * *

That night we were all gathered in the cell block, Beth and Glenn were sitting on the floor, Maggie was sitting on the bottom of the stairs and I was sitting a few up from her while everyone else stood around, Rick came down the stairs with Judith who was getting fussy, I reached my arms out for her and he handed her to me and I rocked her trying to calm her down then she eventually did when Beth started to sing.

'They hung a sign up in our town, If you live it up, you won't live it down. Monroe hips, She went and took the California trip, Well, the moon was gold and her hair like wind, Said don't look back now, Just come on, Jim, You got to hold on, Hold on, You got to hold on, Take my hand, I'm standing right here, You got to hold on, Well, he gave her a dime-store watch, And a ring made from a spoon, Everyone's looking for someone to blame, If you share my bed, you share my name' I see Daryl look at me out the corner of my eye and give a small smile , 'When there's nothing left to keep you here, When you're falling behind in this big blue world, You got to hold on, Hold on, Got to hold on, Take my hand, I'm standing right here, Got to hold on...Down by the Riverside Motel, It's 10 below and falling, By a 99-cent store, She closed her eyes and started swaying, But it's so hard to dance that way, When it's cold and there's no music, Well, your old hometown is so far away, But inside your head there's a record, That's playing a song called, Hold on, hold on, Baby, you got to hold on, Take my hand, I'm standing right there, You got to hold on, You got to hold on, hold on, Baby, got to hold on, Take my hand, I'm standing right there, You got to hold on, You got to hold on, hold on, Baby, you got to hold on, And take my hand, I'm standing right here, You got to hold on, You got to hold on, You got to hold on, baby, You got to hold on, girl, You got to hold on, You got to hold on.'


	12. Chapter 12

**We are the Walking Dead**

"Sure you wanna go?" Daryl asked me as I got my gun and knife ready

"I can't let you have all the fun" I smirked and he put his hands on my hips pulling me to him

"If anything goes wrong..."

"Stay by you. I know." I tell him and he kissed me

"I just want to make sure I don't lose you."

"You'll never lose me. Ever." I said and kissed him again then got on the back of his bike then we took off.

* * *

We pulled up to an old feed mill and I got off the bike then Daryl did, I pulled out my gun as Rick got out of the car and they started to look around the place while I stayed with Hershel by the car.

"Think this is gonna work?" I asked Hershel

"It's worth a shot"

"He's already in there. Sat down with Rick." Daryl told us walking back over

"I don't see any cars." Hershel pointed out

"It don't feel right. Keep it running." Daryl told him and we hear a truck approach, "Heads up." He tells Hershel as the both of us raise our weapons and I see Andrea get out along with two other people, "What the hell? Why's your boy already in there?" Daryl asked her

"He's here?"

"Yup." I answered and she headed inside

We lowered our weapons and Hershel got out of the car as Daryl paced and I saw the one guy looking at me, "I'm not gonna do any tricks, so you can stop staring." I tell him and he chuckled then Daryl walked over and stood behind me, the guy scoffed then looked away

"Maybe I should go inside" Hershel suggested

"The Governor thought it best if he and Rick spoke privately." The guy with the glasses says

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl asked him

"Milton Mamet."

"Great. He brought his butler." Daryl said and I snorted

"I'm his advisor."

"What kind of advice?" Daryl asked

"Planning. Biters. Uh, you know, I'm sorry. I don't feel like I need to explain myself to the henchmen."

"You better watch your mouth, sunshine."

"Daryl" I told him and he looked at me, I shook my head

"Look, if you, me and her are gonna be out here pointing guns at each other all day, do me a favor, shut your mouth." The other guy told Daryl who walked over to him

"We don't need this. If all goes south in there, we'll be at each other's throats soon enough." Hershel pointed out and Daryl walked back over to me, few minutes later Andrea came outside, looked at us then went and sat down.

* * *

Daryl kept pacing as I leaned against the car and he exhaled, "Hey," I grabbed his hand, "You okay?" I asked him and he nodded then continued to pace

"There's no reason not to use this time we have together to explore the issues ourselves." Milton told all of us

"Boss said to sit tight and shut up." Martinez said to him

"Don't you mean the Governor?" I asked him

"It's a good thing they're sitting down, especially after what happened. They're gonna work it out. Nobody wants another battle." Milton says

"I wouldn't exactly call it a battle." Daryl told him

"I would call it a battle and I did. I recorded it."

"For what?" Daryl asked him

"Somebody's got to keep a record of what we've gone through. It'll be a part of our history."

"That makes sense." Hershel pointed out

"I've got dozens of interviews-" Milton started to say but got cut of when we hear growling, me and Daryl moved forward then Martinez and Andrea followed and we see two walkers standing there.

"After you." Daryl gestured to Martinez

"No way. You first." He says, me and Andrea looked at each other and she sighed then we both moved forward stabbing each walker, "Pussy" Martinez says to Daryl and walked over hitting another one with his bat then Daryl moved forward and got one with his crossbow then Martinez hit another one.

I sighed and looked at Andrea then walked away and she followed, "Kate" She called and I stopped, "I'm sorry, about Lori." She says and I gave her a small nod, "And...Shane." She added and I looked at her.

"I'm not." I tell her and she looked at me confused, "He didn't really...accept the fact that I didn't love him. He thought forcing himself on me was the way to prove his love for me.

"I...didn't..."

"I only told Lori, Daryl stopped it, Lori told Rick." I said

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine, but Andrea you're trying to protect a man who's worse then him. You need to either get out or kill him." I tell her then Daryl and Martinez joined back up with us.

About 20 minutes later the door opened and the Governor walked out followed by Rick and walked over to the truck, Rick walked over to the car and I looked at Andrea giving her a small nod then got on the back of Daryl's bike and he handed me his crossbow to hold then we drove off heading back to the prison

* * *

"So, I met this Governor. Sat with him for quite a while." Rick told the others

"Just the two of you?" Merle asked him

"Yeah."

"Should have gone when we had the chance, bro." I hear Merle mumble to Glenn as he walked past them

"He wants the prison. He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury. We're going to war." Rick tells us and I looked around at the others as Rick walked away then I headed up the stairs to mine and Daryl's cell, he followed shortly after and pulled me into a hug.

"It'll be ok" he tells me and I looked at him then he kissed me, "I ain't letting anything happen to you"

"Ditto" I told him and he hugged me again. I'll die for this man, and for anyone else here, including Merle. I just hope it doesn't come to that.

* * *

"It's the only way. No one else knows." Rick tells me, Hershel and Daryl about his plan

"You gonna tell 'em?" Daryl asked him

"Not till after. We have to do it today. It has to be quiet."

"You got a plan?" I ask him

"We tell her we need to talk. Away from the others."

"Just ain't us, man." Daryl says

"No. No, it isn't." Hershel agreed and walked away

"We do this, we avoid a fight. No one else dies."

Daryl looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders while shaking my head, "Okay." Daryl agreed

"We need someone else." Rick says to Daryl, I automatically knew who he meant

"I'll talk to him."

"I'll do it." Rick says

"I'll go with you."

"No. Just me." Rick tells him and walked away

"It's not right. I mean if he does this, who knows what will happen, the Governor could still come here anyways and kill us." I tell Daryl and he pulled me into a hug.

"I know, but we have to at least try"

"I just don't get why we are such a threat to him, I mean the only reason we attacked was when you guys came for me, Glenn and Maggie. Then he attacked us, if we just let our groups live our lives away from each other then there's nothing to worry about." I point out

"I wish it was that simple" Daryl told me then kissed me, "But I promise, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Ever. I love you."

"I love you too." I replied then we headed back inside.

* * *

We drive back up to the yard after laying down traps for the Governors people, Rick opened the gate for us and we got out, "They try to drive up to the gate again, maybe some blown tires will stop them." Glenn told Rick

"That's a good idea."

"It was Michonne's." I said to him giving him a look as Maggie and Carl walked back up to us

"We don't have to win. We just have to make their getting at us more trouble than it's worth." Michonne adds and I give her a small smile, she really has proved herself to be a part of our group, now we were gonna hand her off to a psychopath who wants to kill us

"Let's go" Rick says and we head back into the prison

* * *

I sat on my bed after getting changed and put my boots on when there was a knock on the wall outside my cell, I looked up and saw Merle standing there, "Can I help you?" I asked him looking back at my boot and zipped it.

"Is that anyway to treat your family?" He asked walking in

"We're not family Merle." I stood up putting on my coat keeping silent

"Not yet, give it time." He says and I sighed, "Look I don't ever do this so this is a one time thing." He says and I look at him, "I'm glad you're in Daryl's life, after all he's been through it's nice he has someone who cares about him, other then me of course. You're good for him and you make him happy. I meant what I said at Woodbury, I don't hurt family and that's what you are. I wasn't the best brother to him when we were younger but I'm here for him now, and I'm here for you too."

I was a little taken back by what he just said and I gave him a small smile, "Thank you Merle"

"You tell anyone I said that.."

"Said what?" I asked with a confused look then smiled at him

"Smart-ass" He grumbled and walked away as I chuckled

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Merle. You down here?" I called to him walking through the basement corridors and I hear clattering coming from a room so I raised my crossbow, "Merle."

"Hey, little brother." He says and I lower it looking around

"What the hell?"

"I was just about to holler back at ya." He tells me leaning on work table

"What you doing down here?"

"Just looking for a little crystal meth." He tells me and I look at him shaking my head, "Yeah, yeah, I know. shit will mess my life up when everything is going so sweet, right?"

"You talk to Rick yet?" I asked him

"Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm in. But, uh, he ain't got the stomach for it. He's gonna buckle. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. If he does, he does." I pointed out

"You want him to?" He asked me

"Whatever he says goes."

"Man. Do you even possess a pair of balls, little brother? Are they even attached? I mean, if they are, they belong to you? Or do they belong to your girlfriend? Come on man, you used to call people like that sheep. What happened to you?" He asked me

"What happened with you and Glenn, Kate and Maggie?" I asked him

"I've done worse, but I didn't hurt your girl, after she told me you two were together I refrained but uh the Governor man he wanted answers so he sent in another guy." He told me and I sighed, "You need to grow up. Things are different now. Your people look at me like I'm the devil...grabbing up those lovebirds and your girlfriend like that, huh? Now y'all want to do the same damn thing I did- snatch someone up and deliver them to the Governor, just like me. Yeah. People do what they got to do or they die."

"Can't do things without people anymore, man." I point out and he scoffed

"Maybe these people need somebody like me around, huh? Do their dirty work. The bad guy. Yeah, maybe that's how it is now, huh? How does that hit you?"

I looked at him and put my hand on his shoulder, "I just want my brother back."

"Get out of here, man." He says and I walked away

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

"So where is it?" I hear Michonne ask Merle from behind me as we walked through the tombs.

"Around the corner. We got to clear some walkers, then get the others down here to barricade it. A breach like this could be an open invitation to the Governor." Merle says and I look back at him briefly, Rick wanted him to do this but I told Merle I'd help him. I hated it, I did, but Michonne wouldn't have gone down here with just the two of them. I just hoped she could forgive me.

"He's not much for subtlety." Michonne adds breaking me out of my thoughts as walkers came down the hall

"You want to take your chances?" Merle asked her killing two of them as I killed one as well. Then when Michonne went to kill some more that were coming near us I see her go down and Merle kill the walkers

"Merle. What the hell?" I asked him

"You go back. You can't be involved in this."

"Well tough, I can't take any chances. I have to protect my family." I said and he grabbed Michonne's feet and dragged her as I killed walkers.

* * *

"Governor made Rick an offer." Merle says as we walk along the road making our way to Woodbury, "Turn you over and we all give peace a chance. I agree with you. He would have blinked."

"But not you." She tells him

"I'm being straight with you."

"You were straight when you led me into the tombs." She says and looked at me, "Both of you."

"Michonne I..."

"Okay, maybe I wasn't straight." Merle said cutting me off

"You put a bag over my head."

"I got it done. He wouldn't. Keep moving. He was a guy that came back for me on that rooftop. Nah. It's all on me. You know? I figure that's why I was back there in the first place. Do the dirty work." He says and a walker comes towards us, "May I?" He asked then pulled out Michonne's sword, "I'll take that as a yes." He says and walked over to it.

"Merle, I understand, but you Kate? Why?" Michonne asked me

"For my family. I made a promise." I answered as Merle walked back over

"But you know it's not going to work." She tells me and I was about to say something but Merle spoke up

"Oh! You know what? I'd figured you would have run."

"Wanted my sword back before I get away." She tells him and he chuckled

"It may go down that way. But if I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up. Move."

* * *

"It's off. We'll take our chances." Rick says to me walking over

"I'm not saying it was the wrong call, but this is definitely the right one." I tell him and see him look around

"What's wrong?" I asked him

"I can't find Merle or Michonne. They've gone." He paused then looked at me, "Or Kate."

I felt my heart stop, "Come on." I tell him and we head down to the basement level where Merle was earlier, "He was in here. Said he was looking for drugs. Said a lot of things, actually."

"Like what?" Rick asked me as I looked around the room

"Said that you were gonna change your mind. Here we go." I mentioned and picked up a cloth, "Yeah, he took her here. They mixed it up." I informed him then picked something else up, "It's Kate's dog tags."

"Why would those be down here?" He asked me

"I don't know."

"Damn it! I'm going after them." Rick said heading to the back door and I followed

"You can't track for shit."

"Then the both of us." Rick says

"No, just me. I said I'd go and I'll go."

"I'm coming with, she's my sister." He told me and I shook my head

"No"

"Daryl..." He started to say

"I got it, I'll bring her back." I said putting Kate's dog tags in my pockets, "They're gonna come back here. You need to be ready. Your family, too." I said to him and walked out the door

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

"I want to be with my brother. My brother, he wants to be in the prison." Merle says as we continue walking, "This little trip... maybe it'll keep that place standing. If I pull it off, maybe all is forgiven."

"That's a whole lot of maybes." Michonne pointed out as we come up on a house

"You got to play the hand you're dealt. I only got one." Merle says and made his way over to a car that was sitting there and opened the door then shut it walking back over to us.

"You talk about the weight of what you have to do, how you can handle it. A bad man, someone truly evil, they're light as a feather. They don't feel a thing." Michonne tells him

"I've killed 16 men since all this went down. Let's go."

* * *

"All right. I think we're good." Merle told us as we run up to an abandoned store

"Yeah, we're great." Michonne adds and he took the wire he had her tied up with and wrapped it around a pole while I looked at a car that was sitting there then got into the drivers side and began to look for the wires to start it when Merle walked over.

"Move over sunshine." He says and I looked at him then got out as he looked under the steering wheel.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" I asked him while standing watch

"How many cars have you hot wired?"

I sighed and looked around, "None."

"I've done this before, just watch the master." He says and I rolled my eyes and looked at Michonne, I was about to walk over to her to talk when suddenly Merle started to car alarm after it started.

"Damn it." I mumbled seeing walkers come out of the woods, "Merle!"

"Come on, Merle!" Michonne yelled and I grabbed Michonne's sword off the hood and started to kill the ones coming towards me and Merle

"Merle!" I yelled at him as I continued killing them then I saw one go to the car by Merle's feet and I ran over stabbing it through the head killing it, "Hurry up!" I yelled to him and I see one go to Michonne but before I could get it Merle shot it then ran over to her cutting the wire.

"Let's go!" He says and we all get into the car and he drives off

* * *

"So is this your thing, then? You take out the trash?" Michonne asked him

"Don't be so hard on yourself, darlin'."

"The Governor, Rick, anyone who needs their piss bucket emptied and you come a-running. Things are different for your brother." She adds

"Yeah, they are. Rick says jump and he wants to know how high."

"There's more to it then that." I said from the backseat

"Mm-mmm. Rick needs him. Respects him. He didn't ask him to do this little job, now, did he?" Michonne asked him

"No, 'cause he wants it done."

"You keep telling yourself that. The truth is this could have been your shot. With your skills, a whole new beginning. But you choose to stay on the outside. No one's gonna mourn you, not even Daryl. He's got a new family." She says

"Michonne.." I started to say but Merle cut me off

"You keep trying to get under my skin, I'm gonna cut that tongue out. Your buddy's turning you over 'cause he's trying to save his own ass. You're as much on the outside as I am, girl."

"Maybe. But once the Governor's done with me, at least I won't have to live with myself." She says and glanced back at me making my stomach twist with even more guilt then I already felt, "You said you killed 16 men since this thing started? You ever kill anyone before?" She asked him

"No."

"And how about before Woodbury? Before you met him?" She asked and I saw Merle shift in the seat, "Huh. So he saves your life, cleans you up, fed you a line of bullshit. Why would you kill somebody else for him? You know, we can go back." She adds and he chuckled

"Ain't happening."

"The three of us. We can just go back." She says

"I can't go back. Don't you understand that? I can't."

"Why?" I asked him and he stopped the car then leaned over to Michonne cutting her ties

"You go back with them. Both of you." He said and looked at me then her, "Get ready for what's next." He opened her door, "I got something I got to do on my own." He says and she got out and I followed then quickly got into the passenger seat with Merle looking at me confused, "The hell do you think you're doing?"

"I made a promise to someone and I plan on keeping it." I told him and looked at Michonne, "I hope you can forgive me for all of this, but I'll understand if you don't. I'm sorry Michonne" I tell her handing the sword to her then shut the door, "Drive." I told him and Merle hesitated then drove the car.

* * *

Me and Merle sat in the car as he drank from a whiskey bottle blaring music to attract walkers, he reached over and handed me the bottle, I hesitated then took it taking a drink and handed back to him then he started to car slowly driving off leading the walkers to the old feed mill.

"Ready?" He asked and I took one more drink then nodded, we both opened our doors and rolled out then headed into a building quickly to take cover as the car continued to go.

We hid at two windows after making our way through seeing the Governors men there with trucks and they started to shoot at the walkers. We raised our rifles up and started to take out the men then I see the Governor emerge. Me and Merle moved over to another pair of windows and continued shooting until a walker came up on him and he fought it off then killed it falling out of the door. I hear him grunt as I saw a couple guys beat him up.

"You leave him to me!" The Governor yelled as he grabbed Merle dragging him back in while I hid behind a wall hearing the two of them fight.

"I ain't gonna beg! I ain't begging you!" Merle yelled at him and I hear a gun cock.

"No." The Governor says but I moved out from the wall just as he raised the gun up and shot his hand. He yelled then turned around smacking me across the face then Merle ran over and tackled him. I took the opportunity to grab my rifle and point it at the Governor.

"Merle," I said and nodded my head for him to move, "I don't want to kill you, I don't, but if you don't leave right now and never come back I won't have to." I tell him and he laughed then suddenly a gunshot goes off and I feel a bullet hit my shoulder, "AHH!" I yelled dropping my rifle putting my hand to my shoulder and Merle pushed me to run.

"Come on go!" He yelled and we ran out off the building as the men fired at us making our way into the woods.

"Find them! Come on!" We hear Martinez yell and we continued to run. Once everything was clear we made our way back hoping to find the car we drove here only to see Daryl standing there looking around.

"Daryl." I called to him and he rushed over to us pulling me into a hug.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He asked me holding my face then looked at my shoulder, "The hell happened?" He asked pulling out his rag and put it on the wound, I winced as Merle walked over.

"She got hit, saving me." Merle tells him and I looked at him and gave a small smile then looked back at Daryl.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you but I...I knew you would stop me."

"Damn right I would have. I could have lost you, Rick, Carl, Judith..they could have lost you." He says and tears form in my eyes.

"I know, but I had to do something to keep them safe." I tell him and he sighed then hugged me again then looked at Merle who put his hand on Daryl's shoulder.

"Let's go home," Daryl tells me and looked back at Merle, "All of us."

"I can't, not after..."

"You're family." I tell him and he looked at me, "It'll take time and it won't be easy, but we don't turn our back on family." I said and for the first time since I've known him, Merle smiled, not a big one, just a little one to show me that he appreciated what I said.

* * *

The next few days we gathered up our stuff to leave, I was in my cell putting everything together, I finished packing up mine and Daryl's stuff then walked outside over to Daryl who was sitting on the ground next to his bike.

"You sure you wanna do this?" He asked me

"I need to, for us. For them." I answered looking at Carl and Judith

He stood up and wrapped his arm around me then kissed me, "Be careful"

"Always am. I love you"

"I love you too" He says and we load stuff up. I give Merle a nod as he looked at us from the cars.

* * *

We sat at the prison and waited, I was down in the tombs when I hear footsteps, after a moment I threw out a flash bang and people lead by the Governor started screaming and moved to leave.

"Hold your ground! Hold your ground!" The Governor shouted but they all ran out, I made my way out of the tombs and headed to the catwalk with Maggie who was in riot gear and we started shooting at everyone as they were coming out, then I see the Governor and I fired at him but kept missing and he fired back at me so I ducked.

Just then they all head to their vehicles and drive off, "We did it?" Maggie hollered to Glenn as he takes his helmet off.

"We did it. Come on down."

* * *

"We did it. We drove them out." Rick says as we look out of the gate entrance

"We should go after them." Michonne tells him

"We should finish it." Daryl adds

"It is finished. Didn't you see them hightail it out of here?" Maggie asked

"They could regroup. We can't take the chance. He's not gonna stop."

"They're right. We can't keep living like this." I mentioned

"So we take the fight back to Woodbury. We barely made it back last time."

"He don't care." Daryl says

"Yeah. Let's check on the others." Rick tells us and we head inside the prison

* * *

"Rick we're staying, We don't know where the Governor is. If he comes back, we'll hold him off." Glenn tells him as we get ready to go

"Just the four of us? All right." Daryl says and hands me his crossbow then I put it over my shoulder and get on the back of his bike

"I appreciate you staying." Rick tells them and we drive up to the gate and headed out

* * *

We came up to a rode and saw a truck stopped with dead bodies all around with walkers eating them, I take his crossbow off my shoulder handing it to Daryl and he kills one then Michonne kills two with her sword and I killed another one with my knife.

Rick walked forward killing one and suddenly there was a bang on the truck window causing Daryl and I to jump and move away, Rick pointed his gun up and Daryl moved back to open the door letting the woman out

* * *

We made our way to Woodbury moving towards the wall of the town when a gunshot goes off next to Rick and we take cover shooting back.

"Tyreese! It's me don.."

"Get down!" Rick tells the woman pulling her back down

"Karen! Karen are you okay?!"

She stands up again and pulled away from Rick, "I'm fine!"

"Where's the Governor?" He asked her

"He fired on everyone. He killed them all."

"Why are you with them?" He asks

"They saved me."

"We're coming out!" Rick tells him and Daryl shook his head, "We're coming out." Rick says and we stand up raising our hands walking forward as the gate opened

"What are you doing here?" Tyreese asked Rick

"We were coming to finish this until we saw what the Governor did."

"He ... he killed them?" He asks

"Yeah. Karen told us Andrea hopped the wall going for the prison. She never made it. She might be here."

* * *

"This is where he had Glenn, Kate and Maggie." Rick tells Tyreese as we made our way through the warehouse

"The Governor held people here?"

"He did more than hold them." Daryl says and we come up on a door and see blood on the floor

"Will you open it?" Michonne asked Rick after drawing her sword and both him and I raised our guns

"One, two..." Rick counted and opened the door, we see Andrea on the ground and Michonne rushed over

"Andrea!"

"I tried to stop them." Andrea tells us and I see a dead walker on the ground

"You're burning up." Michonne says to her and Andrea moved the part of her shirt that was over her shoulder revealing a bit mark

"Judith, Carl, the rest of them..." She started to say but Rick cut her off

"Us. The rest of us."

"Are they alive?" She asked

"Yeah, they're alive."

"It's good you found them." She tells Michonne who's crying, "No one can make it alone now." She says looking at me and Daryl and I feel tears in my eyes

"They never could." Daryl tells her

"I just didn't want anyone to die. I can do it myself."

"No." Michonne tells her

"I have to. While I still can. Please? I know how the safety works." She tells Rick and he slowly hands her a gun

"Well I'm not going anywhere" Michonne tells her

"Thank you, for everything" I tell her and she smiled at me

"I tried" Andrea says and I hug her.

"Yeah. You did" Rick told her and stands up then we walk out of the room and he shuts the door. We stand there for a few more moments then we hear a gunshot, I put my hand over my mouth and cried as Daryl pulled me to him into a hug.

* * *

We headed back to the prison with a bus following us, with people from Woodbury and we entered the gate. I see the others look at us confused as everyone gets off the bus and looked around then Tyreese and Sasha lead them inside.

"You okay?" Daryl asked me and I gave a small smile

"I will be" I tell him and he put his hand on my shoulder

"We will be, all of us." He says as Merle walked over clapping his brother on the back then walked into the prison.

I nod my head and he hugged me. Today was the day we started to rebuild what we lost, and remember the people we lost.

 **A/N: Yes I kept Merle alive because I thought killing him was a mean thing to do to Daryl. Now I just have to try and hone my creative skills when it comes to him in future chapters. BTW, I'm sorry it took so long to update I was catching up on one of my shows and got distracted. Hope you guys enjoy.**


	13. Chapter 13

**We are the Walking Dead**

I woke up feeling Daryl's arms tighten around me then he started kissing my neck and I giggled, "Well good morning to you too." I tell him and he chuckled then rolled me over kissing me passionately and I moved my fingers into his hair as he pushed his tongue into my mouth causing me to moan, "Not that I'm complaining but I thought you wouldn't have enough energy left after last night." I smirked and he started to kiss my neck.

"Can't help it, you make it hard to resist you." He says into my ear sending shock waves through my body then continued. Over the past few months we turned this place into a home for all of us, especially the cells. Me and Daryl managed to somewhat turn ours into a decent place to sleep, put boards on the cell door making it so we had privacy and that no one could hear us. Rick and I kept the cell between the both of us for Judith to stay in that way we would be right there if she needed us.

"I love you, Mrs. Dixon." Daryl says and I kissed him which grew more heated and we continued what we were doing.

Oh yeah...and we got married.

* * *

"Morning, Daryl." I heard Dr. S say I look up to see my husband walking over to me and Carol, she was cooking the deer Daryl and Merle killed and I was cutting up vegetables

"What's up, Dr. S"

"Morning, Daryl"

"Morning, Daryl."

"Hey, Daryl!" Other people greeted and he looked back then at Carol grabbing a bowl

"Smells good."

"Just so you know, I liked you first." She told him and I looked at her then chuckled

"I thought I was the one that liked him first?" I asked jokingly and he leaned over kissing me on the cheek

"And here I thought it was me you liked first darlin'," I hear Merle say as he walked up behind Carol looking at her.

"Merle." I said and he looked at me, I shook my head and he chuckled then grabbed a bowl of food and started eating. Since everything that happened I made everyone a promise that me and Daryl would keep him in line. Maggie and Glenn eventually learned to let it go, well that is after I made Merle apologize to them. Everyone got used to having him around now, and he was getting better, sometimes though he would speak before thinking though.

"Stop. You know Rick brought in a lot of them, too." Daryl says to Carol after he took a bite.

"Not recently. Give the stranger sanctuary, keeping people fed, you're gonna have to learn to live with the love." I told him and he lightly shoved me

"I need you to see something. Patrick, you want to take over?" Carol asked the young boy

"Yes, ma'am." He walked over and stopped Daryl, "Mr. Dixon, I just wanted to thank you for bringing that deer back yesterday. It was a real treat, sir. And I'd be honored to shake your hand." He said and held his hand out, Daryl looked briefly at me, Merle and Carol then sucked the juice off his fingers and shook the boys hand and we walked away.

* * *

"About today, I don't know if we're gonna be able to spare a lot of people for the run." Carol tells him, since everything that had happened recently Rick stopped leading us and now there was a small council consisting of Hershel, Michonne, Carol, Glenn, Daryl and me.

"That place is good to go. We're gonna move on it."

"Yeah. The thing is, we had a pretty big buildup overnight." She tells him and we look down at the fence, "Dozens more towards tower three. It's getting as bad as last month. They don't spread out anymore."

"With more of us sitting here, we're drawing more of them out. You get enough of those damn fence-clingers, they start to herd up." He says

"Pushing against the fences again. It's manageable, but unless we get ahead of it, it won't be for long." Merle adds and I looked at him nodding then looked at Daryl.

"Sorry Pookie" I joked batting my eyelashes and he nudged me with his shoulder then we walked away

* * *

"Okay, are you gonna say good-bye?" I heard Zach ask Beth as she walked past me and Daryl who were walking supplies to the back of the truck

"Nope."

"It's like a damn romance novel." Daryl says and he put the basket in the bed off the truck

"Oh come on, it's young love." I tell him putting my bag in the back, "Besides, you act the same way with me." I point out to him and he put his hands on my hips

"What's your point?" He asked and I wrapped my arms around his neck

"No point, just stating a fact" I said and he kissed me. We started to build a life for us here. We turned our cell into a home the best way we could, every time we went on runs we'd find stuff to make it comfortable. We also cut the top bunk off our bed because Daryl got tired of almost hitting his head on it.

* * *

"Well, look who's back." Daryl tells Michonne as he stops his bike with me on the back.

"Didn't find him."

"Glad to see you in one piece." I said to her

"I'm thinking of looking over near Macon. It's worth a shot." She mentioned and I look at Rick who didn't seemed to thrilled about the idea

"70 miles of walkers. You might run into a few unneighborly types. Is it?" Daryl asked her then looked at Rick, "I'm gonna go check out the Big Spot. The one I was talking about, just seeing."

"Yeah, I got to go out and check the snares. I don't want to lose whatever we catch to the walkers."

"I'll go." Michonne said and started to walk to the car

"You just got here." Carl says and she looks at him

"And I'll be back."

* * *

"Army came in and put these fences up. Made it a place for the people to go. Last week when we spotted this place, there was a bunch of walkers behind this chain-link keeping people out like a bunch of guard dogs." I mentioned as we stood by a fence next to the Big Spot

"So they all just left?" Bob asked me

"Give a listen." Daryl tells him and we hear music playing

"You drew 'em out." Michonne says

"Put a boom box out there three days ago." Sasha says to her

"Hooked it up to two car batteries." Glenn adds

"All right, let's make a sweep. Make sure it's safe. Grab what you can. We'll come back tomorrow with more people. Come on." Daryl tells us and we make our way in

* * *

"Just give it a second." Daryl tells us after knocking on a glass window outside the building

"Okay, I think I got it." Zack said from next to him

"Got what?" Michonne asked him

"I've been trying to guess what Daryl did before the turn."

"He's been trying to guess for, like, six weeks." I tell her

"Yeah, I'm pacing myself. One shot a day."

"All right, shoot." Daryl says to him

"Well, the way you are at the prison, you being on the council, you're able to track, you're helping people, but you're still being kind of... surly, so big swing here. Homicide cop." Zack says and Michonne laughed and I snorted

"What's so funny?" Daryl asked us

"Nothing. It makes perfect sense." Michonne told him and I shrugged

"Actually, the man's right. Undercover." Daryl says

"Come on, really?" Zack asked him

"Yep. I don't like to talk about it 'cause it was a lot of heavy shit, you know?"

"Dude, come on, really?" Zach asked again and looked at me then back at Daryl, "Okay. I'll just keep guessing, I guess."

"Yeah, you keep doing that." Daryl tells him and a couple walkers bump up against the glass

"We're gonna do this, Detective?" Michonne asked Daryl as he stood up

"Let's do it."

"All right, we go in, stay in formation for the sweep. After that, you all know what you're supposed to look for. Any questions?" Sasha asked us

"Was there ever a time that you weren't the boss of me?" Tyresse asked her

"You had a few years before I was born." She says to him and we head in.

* * *

"Find something?" I asked Daryl walking up to him and he turned quickly and looked at me.

"Nah. You?"

I looked at him, I could tell he was hiding something but I followed his lead and changed the subject, "Found a few more clothes for Carl and Judith, some toys for the kids, and.." I said and pulled out something from my bag, "I found a few other things Merle could use to make his metal arm a little better." I told him and he nodded looking at what I was showing him.

"Sure he'll appreciate it."

"Just trying to do my best to help him fit in ya know? I know it isn't easy for him." I said putting the stuff back in my bag.

"Hey," He put his hand on my face and I looked at him, "He's doing good, cause of us. Like you said he's family, our family." I nodded and he kissed me then we hear a loud crashing sound.

We run over to it and see a shelf fell over and Bob was underneath it, "You all right? You cut or something?" I asked him as Daryl crouched down to look

"No, man, but my foot is caught."

"All right. He's just caught. Come on, help me up." Daryl tells Zach and Tyresse who joined us

"What happened?" I hear Glenn ask

"Everyone's all right. We're over in wine and beer." I replied helping with the shelf

"I was moving fast, man. I drove right into the drinks." Bob tells us and Tyresse knelt down next to him

"Man, you lucked out. If this thing had come down on you the wrong way..." He started to say but then we heard a noise from above and saw a walker crash through the roof

"Yeah, uh, we should probably go now." Glenn said and I nodded grabbing my stuff

"Bob's still stuck. Get him out of there." Daryl points out going back over to Bob

"We'll get the others." Michonne adds and more walkers start to fall through, we back up, more and more come through and I back up into a shelf as one comes near me and I fire my gun killing it then move forward trying to find Daryl. I rounded a corner seeing him shoot one in the head and beat other other one with his crossbow.

"Hey!" I hear Bob yell from under the shelf, I went to move over to him but two walkers appeared and I moved back, I went to back around the other side of the shelf when I tripped over a dead one and fell then the two others fell on me. I put my hands on them holding them back and started to loose my strength when I see a bolt go into ones head and the other got lifted off of me then stabbed, I grabbed Daryl's hand and we made our way back out from the aisle. Daryl shot one in the head and I stabbed another as more made their way over, we climbed on top of a stack of beer cases, we looked up and saw a helicopter look like it was about to fall through. I started stabbing and shooting at walkers then we made our way down the cases as Glenn came over to us shooting more of them.

"Daryl, Kate go!" He tells us and we make our way to Bob, Daryl grabs the walker Bob was trying to hold back and stomped on his head as Zack put his back to the shelf lifting it up and I pulled Bob out. Just then I hear Zack scream and I turn to see a walker biting him, I went to move to help him but Daryl pulled me back and we started to move

"Go, go!" Daryl shouted and I looked back at Zack but then the roof collapsed as we rushed out.

* * *

"Hey, how did it go?" I asked Daryl after I laid Judith down for the night and we walked out heading into our cell.

"Alright I guess, like I told Beth, just tired of losing people."

"Same here, but at least we still have each other." I tell him and he moved over to me then kissed me

"Forever" He says and I smiled then got into out bed and he closed our door then joined me sitting on the side of it, "Got you something today." He mentioned and I leaned up on my elbow and looked at him confused seeing him reach into his pocket pulling something out then faced me grabbing my left hand, "I never got you one when I asked you, but I found one today and I thought of you." He told me sliding a ring on my finger and I looked at it, it was a simple one but it was perfect.

"Daryl, i-it's beautiful."

"Nah, you're beautiful, this is just an accessory." He said and I put my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss which he deepened, "Are you trying to seduce me Mrs. Dixon?"

I giggled kissing him again then moved my lips to his ear, "Always." I whispered and he growled then kissed me again.


	14. Chapter 14

**We are the Walking Dead**

The next day I was starting to head up into the guard tower to join Maggie taking over Glenn's shift when I heard gunshots go off in the prison, I rushed back down and joined up with Rick as we ran to the others.

"Walkers in D!" Glenn shouted at us

"What about C?!" Rick asked

"Clear." Sasha answered as her, Daryl and Tyresse came out of C block, "We locked the gates to the tombs. Hershel's on guard."

"It ain't a breach." Daryl tells him as we start to head towards D block

"We followed the plan." Sasha adds

* * *

We run into the cell block, me and Daryl start to head up the stairs, "Daryl!" Rick yelled at him and Daryl tossed him the gun he was holding

"I got it. Are you bit?" I hear Rick asking people as I saw Luke on the ground crawling away from a walker, I ran over picking him up then shot the walker in the head and handed the boy to Karen. I stabbed another walker in the head then one grabbed me but Merle quickly got it.

"Are we clear down here?" Rick asked us

"Yeah" I answered and followed Daryl back up the stairs with Rick following shortly after, Glenn was already up there when a walker came out of a cell and grabbed him.

"Get down!" Daryl told him and shot the walker in the head through the bars

"Thanks"

Rick moved the blanket aside and we look in, "Oh it's Patrick" Daryl says and I hang my head down. We look at the woman laying in the cell who hadn't turned yet and Rick looks at Daryl, "I got it" Daryl tells him and shots his bolt into her head. Rick and Glenn moved away and I waited for Daryl, "You alright?" He asked and I nodded my head.

I walk over to Rick with Daryl behind me when we hear a growling, I look into a locked cell and saw Charlie move towards the door, or what used to be Charlie. I grabbed my knife and stabbed him in the head

* * *

"No bites. No wounds. I think he just died." Rick points out to us as we look at Charlie's body

"Horribly, too. Pleurisy aspiration." Dr. S mentioned

"Choked to death on his own blood. Caused those trails down his face." Hershal adds

"I've seen them before on a walker outside the fences." Rick points out

"I saw them on Patrick, too." Daryl says

"They're from the internal lung pressure building up- like if you shake a soda can and pop the top. Only imagine your eyes, ears, nose, and throat are the top." Dr. S said

"It's a sickness, from the walkers?" I asked him

"No, these things happened before they were around. Could be pneumococcal. Most likely an aggressive flu strain."

"Someone locked him in just in time." Hershel says

"No, Charlie used to sleepwalk, he locked himself in." I tell him

"Hell, he was just eating barbecue yesterday. How could somebody die in a day just from a cold?" Daryl asked

"I had a sick pig, it died quick. Saw a sick boar in the woods." Rick replied

"Pigs and birds. That's how these things spread in the past. We need to do something about those hogs." Hershel inputs

"Maybe we got lucky. Maybe these two cases are it." Dr. S said

"Haven't seen anybody be lucky in a long time. Bugs like to run through close quarters. Doesn't get any closer than this." I tell them

"All of us in here, we've all been exposed." Hershel tells us and I looked from Daryl to Charlie, _just great_.

* * *

"Patrick was fine yesterday, and he died overnight. Two people died that quick?" Carola asked as we sat around the table in the library for our meeting, "We'll have to separate everyone that's been exposed."

"That's everyone in that cell block. That's all of us. Maybe more." Daryl pointed out

"We know that this sickness can be lethal. We don't know how easily it spreads. Is anyone else showing symptoms that we know of?" Hershel asked

"We can't just wait and see. And there's children. It isn't just the illness. If people die, they become a threat." Carol says and I look at her, she's changed a lot the past few months and to be honest it worried me.

"We need a place for them to go. They can't stay in D. We can't risk going in there to clean it up." Hershel mentions

"We can use cell block A." I point out

"Death row? I'm not sure that's much of an upgrade." Glenn said

"It's clean. That's an upgrade. Think that'll work for Dr. S?" Daryl asked Hershel

"I'll help Caleb get it set up."

We hear a woman coughing and we all stand up and head to the door, "You okay?" I hear Tyresse ask and watch as him and Karen walk by

"Mm-hmm."

"You sure? You don't sound so good." Carol tells them walking out the door

"We're just taking her back to my cell so she can rest."

"Tyreese, I don't think that's a good idea." Hershel says to him

"Why? What's going on now?" Karen asked

"We think it's a flu or something. That's how Patrick died." Glenn replied

"Judith is in that cell block. She's vulnerable. Anyone that may be sick or even exposed should stay away." I said to her

"It killed Patrick?"

"She's gonna be okay. Now that we know what Patrick died from we can treat it, right?" Tyresse asked as well

"Don't panic. We're going to figure this out. But we should keep you separated in the meantime. We'll have Caleb take a look at you. I'll see what we have in the way of medications." Hershel says

"David from the Decatur group, he's been coughing, too." Karen tells us

"I'll get him. There's some empty clean cells in the tombs, right?" Glenn asked Sasha as he walked away

"Yeah, we'll meet you there."

"Okay. Come on. Let's get you settled." I tell Karen putting my arm around her shoulder following Glenn.

* * *

"Rick! Daryl!" Maggie yelled at them as the walkers started piling up on the fence, I grabbed a crowbar and started killing them when Rick and Daryl came over

"The noise drew 'em out and now this part's starting to give." I tell them then go back to killing them

"Are you seeing this?" Sasha asked from next to me and I followed her gaze, I saw dead rats on the ground in front of the gate, "Is someone feeding these things?"

"Heads up." Daryl warned as the fence started to bend more

"This part of the fence, now!" Merle says and we stab more

"Hold on, hold on. Hey, hey, hey." Rick yells and we stand back

"It's gonna give! It's gonna give!" Glenn says and we start pushing on the fence holding it although I'm not sure what good it's gonna do

"Everybody back! Come on, back, now." Daryl yells and grabs my arm pulling me back

"The fence keeps bending in like that, those walkers are coming over it." I point out

"Daryl, get the truck." Rick tells him and I look at him, "I know what to do."

* * *

I stand in the court yard looking down at Rick and Daryl, who was driving the truck in the field, as Rick took the pigs and dropped them out there. It was horrible yes, but it drew them away for now. I watched as Daryl drove back through the gate and I cleared my throat trying to get rid of the tickle that I've had since earlier.

* * *

"You found them like this?" Rick asked Tyreese who was standing over the charred remains of Karen and David

"I came to see Karen... and I saw the blood on the floor. Then I smelled them. Somebody dragged them out here and set them on fire. They killed them and set them on fire!" He yelled and moved to Rick, "You're a cop. You find out who did this and you bring 'em to me. You understand? You bring 'em to me!"

"We'll find out who-" Daryl started to say moving to pull him away but Tyreese cut him off still facing Rick

"I need to say it again?"

"No. No. I know what you're feeling. I've been there. You saw me there. It's dangerous."

"Karen didn't deserve this. David didn't deserve it. Nobody does." Tyreese says and Daryl moved over to him again

"All right, man, let's-" He put his hand on Tyreese but he spins around and pins Daryl to the gate, me, Rick and Carol move forward but Daryl held his hands up to us

"Man, I ain't going nowhere till I find out who did this!"

"We're on the same side, man." Daryl reassured him

"Hey, look, I know what you're going through. We've all lost someone. We know what you're going through right now, but you've got to calm down." Rick tells him slowly putting his hand on Tyreese who then whipped around and pushed Rick.

"You need to step the hell back!"

"She wouldn't want you being like this." Rick says and Tyreese punched him in the face

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Carol shouted moving over to Rick but Tyreese punched him again

"Tyreese stop!" I yell at him stepping in front of Rick but Tyreese shoved me out of the way but Carol caught me, I see Daryl jump at him wrapping his arms around him

"That's enough. That's enough." Daryl tells him and Rick gets up and punches Tyreese in the face, he falls to the ground then Rick kicks him and starts punching him again

"Rick." Daryl says moving over to him grabbing him, "Stop."

"Let go of me!" Rick yells move over to Tyreese, "Let go of me!" Rick yelled again shoving Daryl off, Tyreese starts to cry and I put my hand on his shoulder rubbing it and I look at Daryl.

* * *

"It's spread. Everyone who survived the attack in cell block D. Sasha, Caleb, and now others." Hershel tells me, my mom, Glenn, Daryl and Michonne who was standing away from us

"Oh, Jesus." I said

"So what do we do?" Carol asked him

"First things first. Cell block A is isolation. We keep the sick people there like we tried with Karen and David."

"What the hell we gonna do about that?" Daryl asked and I looked at him but my mind kind of went hazy listening to them

"Ask Rick to look into it. Try to make a timeline- who's where when. But what are we gonna do to stop this?" Carol asked

"There is no stopping it. You get it, you have to go through it." Hershel replied

"But it just kills you?" Michonne asked him

"The illness doesn't. The symptoms do. We need antibiotics."

"We've been through every pharmacy nearby. And then some." Daryl tells him

"That veterinary college at West Peachtree Tech, that's one place people may not have thought to raid for medication. The drugs for animals there are the same we need."

"That's 50 miles. Too big a risk before. Ain't now. I'm gonna take a group out. Best not waste any more time." Daryl said standing up

"I'm in." Michonne says

"You haven't been exposed. Daryl has. You get in a car with him..." Hershel started to tell her

"He's already given me fleas." She says and I gave a light chuckle

"I can lead the way. I know where everything's kept." Hershel tells us standing up

"When we're out there, it's always the same. Sooner or later we run." Daryl mentioned to him, Hershel may have a fake leg now but he's not as quick as he was before

"I can draw you a map. There are other precautions I feel we should take."

"Like what?" I asked Hershel

"There's no telling how long it'll be before Daryl and his group return. Wouldn't it make sense for us to separate the most vulnerable? We can use the administration building. Separate office, separate room."

"Who is the most vulnerable?" Glenn asked him

"The very young."

"What about the old?" Glenn asked again

* * *

"Son of a bitch is about a quart low." Daryl tells me and Michonne checking the oil in Zack's old car

"You still keep it in the bottom of tower three?" Michonne asked him

"Yeah."

"I'll go get one." She says and starts to walk away

"Hey." Daryl called to her and she looked at him, "I'm glad you're here."

"Where else would I be?"

"Running off." He tells her

"You know I'm not running off." She tells him and he nods his head, "So it's just gonna be me and you like in the old days?"

"Yeah, and Bob. Still, feels like we could use another person."

"Who else isn't sick?" She asked looking at me then back at Daryl

"We don't ask Rick. He wants to stay here with Carl and Little Ass-Kicker. Keep them safe. Plus there's plenty of stuff he could do here."

"So who else we got?" She asked, "Kate?"

"I think I'm gonna sit this one out, I can help out here more then out there." I told her and Daryl looks at me

"Alright, I'll go grab that for you." She tells Daryl and walked away

"You alright?" Daryl asked me and I nodded

"I'm good" I said moving from the wall but at soon as I did it hit me, everything went double and Daryl moved to me

"Whoa hey easy."

"I'm ok" I tell him but as I went to move again I stumbled and he wrapped his arms around me

"Kate!" He yelled and I blacked out

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Where is she?" Rick asked rushing up to me but I stopped him as he tried to go inside

"She's in one of the cells we set up for everyone who is sick."

"What happened?" He asked rubbing his head

"We were standing by Zack's car, getting it ready, then she started to stumble then passed out." I tell him and he paced looking down, "Hey," I said and he looked at me, "She'll be ok, she's tough." I tell him and he nodded.

"About to head out?" He asked and I nodded

"I asked Merle to check in on her," I told him and he put his hands on his hips and looked at me

"He's sure turned things around, like you did. Thanks to you and Kate."

"Well, mostly Kate." I tell him and he chuckled, "I'm gonna go tell her we're leaving." I said and he nodded then I headed down to block A.

* * *

"Kate?" I called and saw Merle standing at the window with Kate on the other side

"Hey little brother, was just checking on the wife." He said and I saw Kate roll her eyes.

"Can I have a minute?" I asked him and he nodded then looked back at Kate walking away, "How are you feeling?" I asked her moving to the window.

"Like I got hit by a bus." She says with a weak smile.

"I don't like this, I wish I was in here, not you."

"Daryl.." She started to say

"No, I mean it, I love you Kate and I don't want to lose you. Especially not to this."

"Hey," She put her hand on the glass and I did the same, "I love you too, you aren't going to lose me, I promise you."

"How are you so strong?"

"I have you." She says

"I'm taking off now, gonna get some medicine, make you better."

"My husband the hero." She smirked then coughed

"I'll be back before you know it." I tell her and she gave a small smile and I reluctantly left. I don't want to, I don't, she is my wife, Rick's sister, Carl and Judith's aunt. I'll do anything to keep her safe.

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

I laid down on the bed in A block trying to rest, I felt like I was hungover without the actual drinking part. Whenever I got sick as a kid Rick took care of me, he would always make me the best chicken noodle soup ever.

I was brought out of my thoughts when there was a knock on my cell door, I moved my head and saw Hershel standing there, "Here, Elderberry tea it'll bring the fever down." He says handing me the cup and moved away

"Thank you." I tell him and take a drink, it was gross but hey if it helped I'm all for it, "How's everyone else?"

"Some are better then others"

"Glenn? Sasha?" I asked

"They hanging in there, just worry about getting better." He told me and I took another drink then coughed

"Yes sir." I said with a smile and he returned it

"Drink up, Daryl will be back before you know it" He says and leaves

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

We walked into the tech building and I raised my crossbow slowly opening the door, when I saw it was clear I motioned for the others to follow and we entered a lab, "All right let's make this quick" I tell them and we spread out grabbing supplies then heading out of the room.

"How'd you do?" Bob asked me and Tyresse when we walked into the room they were in

"Bags, tubes, clamps, connectors. Everything on the list." Tyresse tells him

"What about y'all?" I asked them

"Yeah, we got it all." Bob answered

"Yeah. We're good." Michonne adds

"All right, let's roll." I tell them grabbing my crossbow and we made our way down the hall, we near another room and I hear snarling, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." I said softly and the walker spotted us so we rushed away

"Up ahead." Michonne says as we move forward and go around a corner and entered a dark room

"Hey! Door's busted." Bob whispered and I walked over

"Oh. Hold up." I tell him going to the door latching it as best as I can when walkers started banging on it

"There." I hear Michonne say as she points her flash light towards a stair case, we walk towards it when a walker pops up but Tyresse kills it. Michonne tries the chain on the door when suddenly walkers bang up against it

"How many?" I asked her shining my light through the door

"I can't tell."

"We can take 'em." Tyresse says as the walkers from the other side manage to

"No! They're infected. Same as at the prison. We fire at 'em, get their blood on us, breathe it in. We didn't come all this way to get sick." Bob tells him

"How do we know the ones in there aren't any different?"

"We don't." Michonne replied

"Well, it's gotta change sometime." I said and kicked a table breaking the leg off and Michonne takes out her sword, "Ready?" I asked them

"Do it!" Tyresse yells and I break the chain letting the other walkers in and we start killing them, luckily there was only 3 of them

"Come on." I say grabbing my crossbow and we make our way up the stairs

* * *

We enter another hall and see a walker down it and go the other way only to run into more, we come to the end of the hall and Michonne tries the door but it's locked

"Back." I tell her moving to kick it but it wont budge

"Don't have an exit." Michonne points out and I see a window and climb onto the wall ledge

"Then we make one."

"Get down!" Tyresse yells and throws a fire extinguisher at it breaking the glass

"Come on, move it! Jump down to the walkway below." I ordered helping Michonne up and she went out the window, followed by Tyresse, then me then Bob who jumped out and fell down with his bag hanging over the side and some walkers start to grab it.

"Bob, let it go." Michonne tells him

"Let it go, man. Just let it go." Tyresse says trying to pull him up

"Let go of the bag, man." I tell him as well but Bob manages to get it free pulling it up and it hit the roof, I hear a loud thunk as it does, I walk over to it and see a whiskey bottle, "You got no meds in your bag? Just this?" I asked him holding up the bottle and he just stared at me, "You should have kept walking that day." I said and went to throw the bottle

"Don't." He says and I see his hand on his gun I walk up to him pissed as hell and get right on his face, my wife is laying in the prison sick and could be dying or dead and this kid wants to shoot me over some whiskey, I grab his gun from him and stay in his face then grabbed his shirt.

"Just let it go, Daryl. The man's made his choice. Nothing you can do about it. Just gotta let it go." Tyresse says to me and I let Bob go

"I didn't want to hurt nobody. It was just for when it gets quiet." Bob says

I push the bottle into his chest, "Take one sip before those meds get in our people or my wife, I will beat your ass into the ground. You hear me?" I asked him and walked away

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

I maybe slept for what felt like 2 hours when I woke up in a coughing fit, I put my hand to my mouth and when I pulled it away I saw a little blood on it

"Oh god"

* * *

"Henry I need you to calm down, we're trying to help" Hershel tells him as me, Sasha and Glenn help get the air bag tool into his throat and Hershel started squeezing it to get air into Henry's lungs, I couldn't help but cough and Hershel looked at me, "Drink some of that. All three of you." He tells us and I grab m cup taking a sip, "Some council meeting, huh?"

"We're a few members short." I told him then took a drink of my tea

"I think we should make some new rules before they get back. I hereby declare we have spaghetti Tuesdays every Wednesday," He says and I raised my eyebrow at him, "First we have to find some spaghetti." He adds and I couldn't help but give a small smile, "You okay to take over?" He asked Sasha and she nodded, "Every five to six seconds, squeeze. You start feeling lightheaded, grab somebody else to take over. We'll take it in shifts. You want to help me go on my rounds?" He asked Glenn

"Yeah."

"You get some rest." Hershel told me and I nodded then slowly got up and made my way back to my cell.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Rick asked me from the other side of the window

"I honestly don't know, on one hand I feel like I could sleep for days but on the other, I keep moving trying to help everyone in here."

"Yeah I bet. It's who you are, but you need to rest, that way you can get better." He says and I give a small smile

"Remember that soup you would always make me whenever I was sick?" I asked and he nodded, "Could really go for some of that right now." I said with a chuckle and he smiled, "Do you think about mom and dad?" I asked him

"Yeah, I do."

"I can't help but think..." I started to say feeling tears in my eyes, "...maybe, their ok, ya know? Maybe...maybe their out there somewhere and we'll find them." I said with my voice breaking

"Hey. Don't, don't do that, ok? You're gonna drive yourself crazy."

"Well how can I not? Rick we don't know what happened to them, I tried for days before all of this began to reach them, then...Shane...came and got us. I can't fight this feeling that we lost them and I am trying so hard to not think about it but I can't Rick." I sniffled as tears came out and he looked down

"I know, I know. Me too."

"I love you big brother." I tell him

"I love you too." He says and I started coughing really hard putting my hand over my mouth, when I pulled it away I saw blood again. I looked at Rick who had concern on his face.

"Don't tell Daryl. He'll get back with the medicine and I'll get better. I don't want him to worry more then he is." I said and he nodded.

* * *

"Come on. Come on, Sasha. You know how to fight. Just hold on. Just hold on. Don't give up on me, now." I hear Heshel say and I slowly walk over to where he is kneeling next to her.

"How can I help?" I asked him and he turned to face me

"Get her on her side" He answered and I used the wall to brace myself and got down turning her on her side

* * *

After he worked on her I put a pillow under her head as she laid on the ground in her cell and she slowly started to open her eyes

"Welcome back." Hershel said to her

"I passed out?"

"You were dehydrated. Being a hero takes a lot out of you." He told her

"You should know. I thought you were an idiot to come in here. I mean, I was sure you were just gonna be a dead foolish man." She tells him and I gave a light chuckle

"I can't tell if that's a compliment."

"I don't know what I'm saying. I must have hit my head. I don't believe in magic or luck. I do the math and I don't gamble. But I don't know if I'd be here right now if you weren't so damn stupid." She says

"You know what? I'm gonna take that as a compliment."

* * *

I was laying down in my bed when I heard screaming then shortly after a gunshot, I got out of the bed as quickly as I could then made my way out and looked over the railing to see two walkers down below and one had Hershel to the ground. I headed to the stairs and made my way down with my body on autopilot, I grabbed the walker on Hershel and killed it, he slowly sat up and I went to the one that was attacking another guy and killed it as well. I looked at Hershel as he stood up and we both looked up to see Lizzie leading one away.

Hershel went up the stairs and I walked over to the guy that was just attacked and stabbed his head when I hear Lizzie scream. I made my way up the stairs to see Hershel throw Henry onto the wire net that was there.

"You okay?" He asked her and I walked over

"I called him nice. He didn't scratch Glenn. I thought maybe he listens."

"Lizzy, where is Glenn?" Hershel asked

"His cell." She replies and I move to Glenn's cell to see him on the floor then Hershel comes in

"Hold on Glenn, hold on." He tells him, "Kate get him on his side." He tells me and walks away again

* * *

I hear shots go off then Glenn started gagging and wheezing, "Hershel!" I yelled and he came back in.

"Hold on, Glenn. We have something. We still have it." He says and walks out after a few minutes Maggie rushes in and holds Glenn's head

"He's turning blue!" She yelled at Hershel

"Clear his airway. I'm on the way." He says then comes into the cell, "Roll him on his back." We do so and Glenn keeps gagging, "Hold his arms down." He tells us and Maggie holds one side while I hold the other, "Come on, son. Come on. You know how this works. Just relax. Stay with us. Stay with us..." He says to Glenn and inserts the tube into his throat and pumps the bag, "Stay with us." The gasping stops and Glenn relaxes, I sigh in relief and lean back against the bed

"You're gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay." Maggie tells him and smiles at me

"I didn't want you in here." Hershel said to her

"I know. I had to. Just like you. Daddy."

I see Lizzie walk over to the cell and Hershel looks at her, "I told you to stay put."

"Is it over?" She asked and I stood up moving over to her

"I hope so, honey." I say putting my hand on her shoulder

* * *

 **Daryl's POV...**

We pull up to the prison and before Michonne stopped the van Tyresse opens the door and we see Rick standing there.

"Sasha? How's Sasha?" Tyresse asked him

"I don't know, I'm sorry."

"Get in there we got this" I tell him and he runs to the prison, "Kate?" I asked Rick

"I-I'm not sure. Go." He tells me and I nod running after Tyresse.

I reached the block and saw Kate shutting a cell door then she turned and saw me, "Well how's that for timing?" She asked with a weak smile and I went to move towards her wrapping her in my arms, "You could get sick."

"Don' care." I tell her and she hugs me back, "I love you" I tell her and she looks at me

"I love you too."

* * *

"How's Glenn doing?" Tyresse asked Hershel as we got out of the truck hauling our dead

"He made it through the night. He's breathing on his own now. Maggie and Bob are with him. He seems stable enough for me to get some air."

"He's a tough son of a bitch." I tell him

"He is."

"You're a tough son of a bitch." I said as well

"I am, your wife is tough to, must be genetic." He tells me and I smile a little

"How about Carol? She up in A block with Lizzy?" I asked him

"No. Talk to Rick about her." He said and I look at him confused, "She's okay, just talk to him."

* * *

"Man, you couldn't have waited till we got back?" I asked Rick as I paced

"Until Tyreese got back?" He asked me

"I could've handled that." I tell him

"Hey. Hey. She killed two of our own. She couldn't be here. What if would have been Kate? Or Merle?" He asked me and I looked at him, that was a low blow, "She's gonna be all right. She has a car, supplies, weapons. She's a survivor."

"Stop saying that like you don't believe it."

"She did it. She said it was for us. That's how it was in her head. She wasn't sorry." He says

"Man, that's her, but that ain't her. What are we supposed to do about those two girls?" I asked him

"I told her we'd look after them. I haven't told Tyreese yet. I don't know how he's gonna take it."

"Let's go find out." I tell him

* * *

 **Kate's POV...**

I was feeling a whole lot better now that we got the medicine we needed and I walked into Glenn's cell, "How are you feelin'?" I asked sitting next to him

"Better, you?"

"Tons, Hershel said I should be able to leave here today." I tell him and he smiled

"Lucky you, must be the Grimes blood." He says and I smile

"Must be. You get some rest now that way you can get out of here too." I stand up and walk out of his cell as Maggie walks back with some water, I give her a smile putting my hand on her arm and walked out

* * *

I was in my cell and as I finished changing there was an explosion, I quickly made my way out of the prison and met up with the others at the fence looking out into the field to see the Governor there with a tank and some people and my heart sank.

"Rick! Come down here. We need to talk."

"It's not up to me. There's a council now. They run this place." Rick told him

"Is Hershel on the council?" He asked and I see Hershel get brought out and forced to kneel on the ground, I looked at Maggie and Beth as they started to panic and put my hand on Maggie's shoulder, "What about Michonne? She on the council, too?" He asked again and I saw Michonne get brought out as well

"I don't make decisions anymore."

"You're making the decisions today, Rick. Come down here. Let's... Let's have that talk." The Governor tells him

I see Rick and Daryl exchange a look then Rick looks at Carl putting his hand on his head, "We can do this. All right?" He whispers to him and Carl nods his head, then Rick walked over to me, "If this goes south..."

"I'll keep them safe." I tell him looking at Carl. Rick heads towards the gate walking out and I put my hand on Carl's shoulder

"We can't take 'em all on. We'll go through the admin building, through the woods like we planned. We ain't got the numbers no more. When's the last time someone checked the stash on the bus?" Daryl asked

"Day before we hit the Big Spot. We were running low on rations then. We're lower now." Sasha tells him

"Yeah, we'll manage. Things go south, everyone heads for that bus. Let everybody know." He says and looks at me.

"What if everybody doesn't know when things go bad? How long do we wait?" Merle asked him from next to me.

"As long as we can." He moves over to me, "Go get everyone and tell them to prepare then get on the bus."

I shook my head, "No I'm staying here."

"Kate-"

"No Daryl, I'm gonna do what I can to keep them from getting in here." I tell him and he sighed

"Stay by me."

"Let 'em go right now. I'll stay down here. Talk as long as you want. But you let 'em go. You got a tank. You don't need hostages." I hear Rick say and I look down at them

"I do. This is just to show you I'm serious. Not to blast a hole in our new home. You and your people, you have till sundown to get out of here or they die."

"Doesn't have to go down this way." Rick says

"I got more people, more firepower. We need this prison. There it is."

"It's not about the past. It's about right now. There are children here. Some of them are sick. They won't survive." Rick pleaded

"I have a tank. And I'm letting you walk away from here. What else is there to talk about?" The Governor asked him and Daryl wheels the gun cart over to us handing them out then gives me one, I aim mine through the fence and wait.

* * *

"I could shoot you all. You'd all shoot back. I know that. But we'll win and you'll be dead. All of you."

"Doesn't have to be like that." Rick tells him

"Like I said, it's your choice." I see a walker get closer to them and the Governor shoots it, "Noise will only draw more of them over. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to get out of here."

"We got to do something." Carl said to Daryl from next to him

"Your dad's got it."

"They're talking, we could kill the Governor right now." Carl points out

"From 50 yards?" I asked him

"I'm a good shot. I could end this right now."

"Yeah, or you could start something else. You got to trust him." Merle said

"You got maybe about an hour of sunlight left. I suggest you start packing. The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be for you to get out of here." The Governor says to Rick and I focus my scope on him

"We can all- we can all live together. There's enough room for all of us." Rick pleaded

"More than enough. But I don't think my family would sleep well knowing that you were under the same roof."

"We'd live in different cell blocks. We'd never have to see each other till we're all ready." Rick adds

"It could work. You know it could." I hear Hershel say

"It could've. But it can't. Not after Woodbury. Not after Andrea." The Governer said and I tightened the grip on my gun, I was never really close to Andrea, but that doesn't mean I wasn't sad about her death

"Look, I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. Fact is, it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder than standing here shooting at each other. But I don't think we have a choice." Rick says to him

"We don't. You do."

"We're not leaving. You try and force us, we'll fight back. Like you said, the gunshots will just bring more of them out. They'll take down the fences. Without the fences, this place is worthless. Now, we can all live in the prison or none of us can." Rick tells him and the Governer gets off the take and grabs Michonne's sword from a guy moving over to Hershel holding it at his neck and I clenched my jaw as Maggie and Beth moved closer to the fence.

"You. You in the ponytails. Is this what you want? Is this what any of you want?" Rick asked the other people

"What we want is what you got. Period. Time for you to leave, asshole." The guy in the tank tells him

"Look, I fought him before. And after, we took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here. Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates... you're one of us. We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone who's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We're not too far gone. We get to come back. I know... we all can change." Rick tells him and the Governor moves the sword away from Hershel's neck but then looks at Rick

"Liar." He says and swings the sword to Hershel's neck slicing it

"No!" Rick shouted and fired his gun

"Ah!" I screamed and fired mine along with Daryl and Carl and the others shot back

"Daddy!" I hear Beth yell and I continued shooting killing a couple of people then the tank started to move forward going through the fence, Merle grabs my arm and we move over to a part of the fence that was boarded by wood and continue firing.

"Get to the bus!" Daryl tells me from the other side

"No! I'm staying!" I said and continued as the tank got into the yard, I killed a couple more people when it fired hitting more of the prison. As Daryl reloaded I covered him and suddenly a walker appears next to me, I see Merle kill it then continued shooting

"Merle get her out of here!" Daryl yells to him

"Not without you!" I tell him

"Damn it I don't have time to argue now go!" He says and I give him one last look before Merle pulled me away

"Come on!"

"Daryl!" I yelled but I couldn't fight against Merle so I ran with him and we take cover as someone started to shoot at us, "I need to get to Judith and Carl." I tell him

"No way, I'm getting you out of here."

"That's my family!" I yelled at him

"And you're mine!" He says and I looked at him, "Now I am getting you out of here like my brother said. We will find them now come on!" He told me and I shot at a few more people then got up and we ran.

"Wait, wait, stop stop." I tell him and see something on the ground slowly walking over to it then my heart stopped, it was Judith's car seat, with blood in it, "No." I whispered to myself and Merle walked over, "No." I cried then I hear a walker, I grabbed my knife and moved to it killing it then stabbing it over and over again.

"Kate come on! Kate!" Merle yells pulling my arm and I got up then we continued moving.


	15. Chapter 15

**We are the Walking Dead**

 **A/N: Just a warning, there is gonna be an attempted rape scene in this chapter, if you don't want to read it that's perfectly fine.**

I sat there staring at the small fire Merle made as he handed me some squirrel he finished cooking, "You need to eat." He said and I didn't even look at him when I grabbed it from him but didn't take a bite.

"I brought her into this world," I tell him staring back at the fire, "Lori she couldn't...I brought Judith into this and now..." I stopped and swallowed the lump in my throat, "We have to find them Merle. Rick, Carl, Daryl, everyone, we have to."

"And we will, we just have to..."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked cutting him off looking at him, "It's been a day and we haven't a single thing leading us to them."

"I don't want to hear any of that negativity. Alright?" He asked and I sighed looking back at the fire, "Now eat, rest, you still aren't 100 percent back on your feet yet." He told me and I took a bite of the squirrel and ended up finishing it not realizing how hungry I was.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"We should do something. We should do something. We aren't the only survivors. We can't be. Rick, Michonne, Kate they could be out here." Beth says and I stare at the fire feeling a pain in my heart when she said Kate's name, last I saw of her she was being pulled away by Merle after I told him to get her out of there. I didn't know if she was alive but I really hoped she was and that we would find each other. I can't lose her, "Maggie and Glenn could have made it out of A block. They could've. You're a tracker. You can track. Come on. The sun will be up soon. If we head out now, we can- Fine. If you won't track, I will." She tells me and grabbed my knife out of the ground and walked away, I watched her go then after a moment I got up and put out the fire

"Could be Luke's. Or Molly's. Whoever they are, it means they're alive." She says looking down at the shoe prints I found in the dirt

"No. This means they were alive four or five hours ago." I tell her

"They're alive." She said and walked away, we followed the tracks

"They picked up the pace right here. Got out in a hurry. Things went bad." I pointed out

"Wouldn't kill you to have a little faith."

"Yeah, faith. Faith ain't done shit for us. Sure as hell didn't do nothing for your father." I said and regretted it instantly, I turned around and saw her looking at me, I looked at her saying sorry with my eyes and she started picking berries

"They'll be hungry when we find them." She mentioned and I grabbed the bandana I had and tapped her arm with it so she could put them in there, I walked into the grass heading to the woods and she followed but then I stopped looking at two dead walkers, "What?"

"That ain't walker blood." I point out

"The trail keeps going. They fought them off."

"No. Got walker tracks all up and down here. At least a dozen of them" I mentioned and moved away, I hear a twig snap and next thing I knew a walker grabbed Beth, I aimed my crossbow but couldn't get a good shot so I dropped it then reached for my knife but forgot she had it so I grabbed the walker off her and threw it to the ground, I saw her pick up the knife and I nodded rolling it so it was on top and she stabbed it. I got up and grabbed my crossbow then we moved on and found a set of train tracks seeing a few walkers eating some bodies, I shot two of them then stabbed another with my arrow and looked at the bodies then heard Beth crying.

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

I stood there panting as me and Merle stopped running from some walkers we ran into and I leaned against a tree catching my breath, "Well...I guess we're cut off from direction." Merle says handing me the water bottle

"Just like the last one, we can't win."

"Ah don't give up now sunshine. We got a trail, we'll catch up." Merle says and I rolled my eyes.

"But that herd is cutting us off from it, how can we follow it now?"

"We wait, they'll get distracted by something sooner or later. Then we can pick up where we left off." He says and I nodded, "For now let's find a place to rest for the night."

"Ok."

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

We ran out of the woods as a storm was coming and walkers followed us, I opened the trunk of a car and Beth climbed in then I followed closing it as the storm blew through and walkers bumped against the car. Next day I shot a a snake then started to skin it and Beth looked at me, we sat by a fire after I cooked it and I continued eating my half. Food was food right?

"I need a drink." She tells me and I threw the water bottle at her, "No, I mean a real drink. As in alcohol. I've never had one. 'Cause of my dad. But he's not exactly around anymore, so... I thought we could go find some." She says and I continue eating, "Okay. Well, enjoy your snake jerky." She says and got up walking away,I walked up on her as walkers walked away and she looked at me, I walked away leading her back to camp, although she didn't know that, "I think we made it a way. I'm pretty sure we got to go that way to find the booze." She says and hit our hubcaps that she hung, "What the hell? You brought me back. I'm not staying in this suck-ass camp." She says flipping me off and I grabbed her had

"Hey! You had your fun." I tell her

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you feel anything? Yeah, you think everything's screwed. I guess that's a feeling. So you want to spend the rest of our lives staring into a fire and eating mud snakes? Screw that. We might as well do something. I can take care of myself and I'm gonna get a damn drink." She said and walked away, I looked back at the camp. I do feel something, an emptiness that Kate fills, that's why I need to find her. And Merle.

* * *

"Golfers like to booze it up, right?" She asked as we came up on a golf resort, "Come on." She says and we walk to the building, "Might be people inside." She tries the door with no luck so we headed to another one and walk in, I ready my crossbow and we see a couple walkers hanging from the ceiling. I bent down and found a purse on the ground with money and jewelry sticking out, I started putting it all back in the bag, "Why are you keeping all that stuff?" She asked me and I looked back down and continued.

"Come on." I tell her and we headed out of the room and walked through a dark hallway, I looked up at the shelves and grabbed a few things while Beth walked away. Then I hear her grunt and I rushed over to see her above a dead walker

"Thanks for the help."

"You said you could take care of yourself. You did." I tell her and walked away then we headed down some stairs, I crawled under a tipped over cabinet and lifted a clock, it chimed and I waited a moment then got out with Beth following

"Help me take her down." She said indicating to a dead body that was displayed with a piece of paper that said 'Rich Bitch' on it

"It don't matter. She's dead."

"It does matter." she tells me and I grab a blanket

"Here." I drape it over the body and we headed down another hall then a clock chimed, I turned down a hall shining my light and saw walkers at the end of it, "Move." I tell her and we moved down a different hall ending up in a bar part of the resort with the walkers following us, I shoot one in the head and pushed another hitting it with the golf club as another came in and I stabbed the club through its head, another one came and I kicked it then stabbed the other that came through with my knife as the one I kicked stood up, I knocked it to the ground and started beating it with the club then swung it splattering it on Beth. She took off her top shirt and walked towards the bar.

"We made it. I know you think this is stupid. And it probably is. But I don't care. All I wanted to do today was lay down and cry, but we don't get to do that. So beat up on walkers if that makes you feel better. I need to do this." She says and walked away, I found a framed piece of paper and broke the frame with my crossbow, "Did you have to break the glass?"

"No. You have your drink yet?" I asked her

"No. But I found this. Peach schnapps. Is it good?" She asked and I walked past her

"No."

"Well, it's the only thing left. Who needs a glass?" She asked as I grabbed some darts throwing them at the pictures of some rich assholes on the walk and I hear her start to cry. I looked at her then threw the last dart and walked over to her grabbing the bottle and threw it on the floor

"Ain't gonna have your first drink be no damned peach schnapps." I tell her and grabbed my crossbow moving to the door, "Come on." I tell her and we left

* * *

"A motorcycle mechanic." Beth says

"Huh?"

"That's my guess. For what you were doing before the turn. Did Zack ever guess that one?" She asked me

"It don't matter. Hasn't mattered for a long time."

"It's just what people talk about, you know, to feel normal." She pointed out

"Yeah, well, that never felt normal to me." I tell her and we come up on a cabin, "Found this place with...Kate" I tell her and she put her hand on my shoulder but I walked away.

"I was expecting a liquor store."

"No, this is better." I tell her and we head over to a shed and I grab out a grate

"What's that?" She asked and I handed it to her

"Moonshine. Come on." I said and we headed into the house, I blow into a cup then put some into it handing it to her, "All right. That's a real first drink right there." I tell her and she looked at it, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. It's just... my dad always said bad moonshine can make you go blind."

"Ain't nothing worth seeing out there anymore anyway." I point out and she takes a sip

"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted." She poured herself another one, "Second round's better." I said and she pours some into a cup, "Slow down."

"This one's for you."

"No, I'm good." I declined

"Why?"

"Someone's got to keep watch." I mention

"So, what, you're like my chaperone now?" She asked

"Just drink lots of water." I tell her walking away

"Yes, Mr. Dixon." She says and I stop

 _"I love you Mr. Dixon." Kate tells me and I kissed her as we laid on our bed the night we got married. I never thought I would be someone to do that, but she just...she made me a better man._

 _"I love you too."_

 _"I want you to have these," She says and I see her take off her dogs tags and put them in my hand, "That way if we ever get seperated or you go on a run without me, I'll always be with you."_

 _"We'll never get separated." I told her and she smiled_

 _"I know, but we never know." She says and I put the tags around my neck then kissed her again._

"Who'd go into a store and walk out with this?" Beth asked bringing me out of my thoughts pointing at a glass bra.

"My dad, that's who. Oh, he's a dumbass. He'd set those up on top of the TV set, use them as target practice."

"He shot things inside your house?" She asked me

"It was just a bunch of junk anyway. That's how I knew what this place was. That shed out there, my dad had a place just like this. You got your Dumpster chair. That's for sitting in your drawers all summer drinking. Got your fancy buckets. That's for spitting chaw in after your old lady tells you to stop smoking. You got your internet." I point out picking up a newspaper then we hear growling, "It's just one of 'em."

"Should we get it?" She asked

"If he keeps making too much noise, yeah."

"Well, if we're gonna be trapped again, we might as well make the best of it. Unless you're too busy chaperoning, Mr. Dixon." She says and I sighed, I wanted to hear Kate call me that again

"Hell, might as well make the best of it. Home, sweet home."

* * *

"So first I say something I've never done and if you have done it, you drink, and if you haven't, I drink. Then we switch. You really don't know this game?" She asked me

"I never needed a game to get lit before." I tell her and took a drink

"Wait, are we starting?"

"How do you know this game?" I asked her

"My friends played. I watched. Okay, I'll start. I've never shot a crossbow. So now you drink."

"Ain't much of a game." I said taking a drink

"That was a warm-up. Now you go."

"I don't know." I told her chewing on my thumb

"Just say the first thing that pops into your head."

"I've never been out of Georgia." I point out

"Really?" She asked, "Okay, good one." She took a drink, "I've never... been drunk and did something I regretted." I took a drink

"I've done a lot of things."

"Your turn." She says

"I've never been on vacation."

"What about camping?" She asked me

"No, that was just something I had to learn to hunt."

"Your dad teach you?" She asked

"Mm-hmm."

"Okay. I've never... been in jail. I mean, as a prisoner." She says and I look at her

"Is that what you think of me?" I asked her

"I didn't mean anything serious. I just thought, you know, like the drunk tank. Even my dad got locked up for that back in the day."

"Drink up." I tell her

"Wait. Prison guard. Were you a prison guard before?" She asked me

"No."

"It's your turn again." She says and I stand up

"I'm gonna take a piss." I said and smashed a jar

"You have to be quiet."

"Can't hear you! I'm taking a piss!" I yell

"Daryl, don't talk so loud."

"What, are you my chaperone now?" I asked then zipped up my pants, "Oh, wait. It's my turn, right? I've never- never eaten frozen yogurt. Never had a pet pony. Never got nothing from Santa Claus. Never relied on anyone for protection before. Hell, I don't think I've ever relied on anyone for anything." I tell her

"Daryl."

"Never sung out in front of a big group out in public like everything was fun. Like everything was a big game. I sure as hell never cut my wrists looking for attention." I said and the walker outside pounds against the wall, "Sounds like our friend out there is trying to call all of his buddies." I point out grabbing my crossbow

"Daryl, just shut up."

"Hey, you never shot a crossbow before?" I asked her, "I'm gonna teach you right now. Come on. It's gonna be fun."

"We should stay inside. Daryl, cut it out! Daryl!" She yells as I pull her outside

"Dumbass. Come here, dumbass." I yell at the walker and shoot it's shoulder pinning it to the wall outside the house

"Daryl."

"You want to shoot?" I asked her

"I don't know how."

"Oh, it's easy. Come here." I tell her putting my arm around her holding the crossbow in front of her, "Right corner." I shoot it in the leg

"Let's practice later."

"Come on, it's fun."

"Just stop it. Daryl!" She says

"Come here." I put the crossbow in front of her again, "Eight ball." I shoot it again

"Just kill it!"

"Come here, Greene. Let's pull these out. Get a little more target practice." I tell her and she walked over then stabbed the walker, "What the hell you do that for? I was having fun."

"No, you were being a jackass. If anyone found my dad-"

"Don't." I cut her off, "That ain't remotely the same."

"Killing them is not supposed to be fun."

"What do you want from me, girl, huh?" I asked her

"I want to you stop acting like you don't give a crap about anything. Like nothing we went through matters. Like none of the people we lost meant anything to you. Like Kate never meant anything. It's bullshit!"

"Is that what you think?" I asked her

"That's what I know."

"You don't know nothing." I said

"I know you look at me and you just see another dead girl. I'm not Michonne. I'm not Carol. I'm not Kate. I'm not Maggie. I've survived and you don't get it 'cause I'm not like you or them. But I made it and you don't get to treat me like crap just because you're afraid."

"I ain't afraid of nothing." I tell her

"I remember. When that little girl came out of the barn after my mom." She says and a pain goes through my heart again, "You were like me. And now God forbid you ever let anybody get too close. Other then Kate, maybe Merle."

"Too close, huh? You know all about that. You lost two boyfriends, you can't even shed a tear. Your whole family's gone, all you can do is just go out looking for hooch like some dumb college bitch."

"Screw you. You don't get it." She says

"No, you don't get it! Everyone we know is dead!"

"You don't know that!" She argued

"Might as well be, 'cause you ain't never gonna see 'em again. Rick. You ain't never gonna see Maggie again. I don't even know where Kate and Merle are."

"Daryl, just stop." She says moving to touch me but I moved away

"No! The Governor rolled right up to our gates. Maybe if I wouldn't have stopped looking. Maybe 'cause I gave up. That's on me."

"Daryl."

"No- And your dad. Maybe- maybe I could have done something." I said and couldn't help it, I started to cry, I feel Beth wrap her arms around me from behind.

"We'll find them."

* * *

"I get why my dad stopped drinking." Beth says as we sat on the deck

"You feel sick?"

"Nope. I wish I could feel like this all the time. That's bad."

"Hmm. You're lucky you're a happy drunk." I tell her

"Yeah, I'm lucky. Some people can be real jerks when they drink."

"Yeah, I'm a dick when I'm drunk." I point out, "Merle had this dealer. This janky little white guy. A tweaker. One day we were over at his house watching TV. Wasn't even noon yet and we were all wasted. Merle was high. We were watching this show and Merle was talking all this dumb stuff about it. And he wouldn't let up. Merle never could. Turns out it was the tweaker's kids' favorite show. And he never sees his kids, so he felt guilty about it or something. So he punches Merle in the face. So I started hitting the tweaker, like, hard. As hard as I can. Then he pulls a gun, sticks it right here. He says, "I'm gonna kill you, bitch." So Merle pulls his gun on him. Everyone's yelling. I'm yelling. I thought I was dead. Over a dumb cartoon about a talking dog."

"How'd you get out of it?" She asked me

"The tweaker punched me in the gut. I puked. They both started laughing and forgot all about it. You want to know what I was before all this? I was just drifting around with Merle...doing whatever he said we were gonna be doing that day. I was nobody. Nothing. Some redneck asshole and an even bigger asshole for a brother."

"I miss Maggie. I miss her bossing me around. I miss my big brother Shawn. He was so annoying and overprotective. And my dad. I thought- I hoped he'd just live the rest of his life in peace, you know? I thought Maggie and Glenn would have a baby. And he'd get to be a grandpa. And we'd have birthdays and holidays and summer picnics. And he'd get really old. And it'd happen, but it'd be quiet. It'd be okay. He'd be surrounded by people he loved. That's how unbelievably stupid I am."

"That's how it was supposed to be." I tell her

"I wish I could just... change." She says

"You did."

"Not enough. Not like you. It's like you were made for how things are now." She pointed out

"I'm just used to it, things being ugly. Growing up in a place like this." I point out

"Well, you got away from it."

"I didn't." I said

"You did."

"Maybe you got to keep on reminding me sometimes." I mention

"No. You can't depend on anybody for anything, right? I'll be gone someday."

"Stop." I said

"I will. You're gonna be the last man standing. You are. You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon."

"You ain't a happy drunk at all." I tell her

"Yeah, I'm happy. I'm just not blind. You got to stay who you are, not who you were. Places like this, you have to put it away."

"What if you can't?"

"You have to. Or it kills you. Here. We should go inside. We should burn it down.

"We're gonna need more booze." I mention and we got up then started pouring the moonshine all over the place then went outside, I held a bundle of money from the golf course as she light it and then I threw it at the house, we watched it go up in flames, she nudged me and I saw her hold her middle finger up so I did the same then we left.

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

I don't even know how long we had been walking for, days maybe. We managed to gather up some stuff, clothes, a little bit of food, little water.

The next day after we rested we came up on a house seeing the smoke from a distance hoping it was someone from the prison, only to see the whole thing was burned down, "Well damn, that sucks." Merle says and I sighed closing my eyes, "Come on, let's keep going." He says and I nodded then we continued on.

I stopped walking and Merle looked at me, "See this?" I asked him moving over to a sign on the train tracks, for a place called Terminus, "They could be there, they could all be there, Daryl, Rick, we have to at least try." I tell him and he nodded his head.

"Let's go."

* * *

As we continued walking we saw a small fire up ahead on the tracks and heard voices, I looked at Merle, "It's not any of our people." I point out

"How can you tell?"

"I remember every single person from the prison, I just know." I said and he nodded his head, as we went to walk away to try walking around them through the woods we get stopped.

"Hey!" one of the people yelled and we stopped, "No need to be shy, come join us."

I looked at Merle who hesitated then we walked over to them, "Thank you." I said when we got up to them.

"No problem. What's your name?" The one guy asked and I see 4 more guys sitting there looking at me in a way that made my stomach turn.

"Kate."

"Nice to meet you, and you?" He asked Merle

"Ain't none of your business." Merle says and I look at him, "Merle."

"Well Kate and Merle I'm Jacob, this is Kevin, Eric, Dan, and Jared." He introduced, "Please sit." He indicated and I hesitated then sat down with Merle folowing, "Been on the road a while?"

"Few days now." I answered and I saw the other men still look at me

"Where are you headed?" Dan asked

"No where for now." I tell him and he grinned a little making me want to throw up

"Yeah, we saw that sign for Terminus, we might head there. You?"

"We haven't seen any signs but uh yeah, could be a good place, possibly." I tell him and he looked at Merle.

"This your girl?" He asked him and I threw up a little in my mouth.

"Nah man, not really. We ran into each other, two lonely people on the road things happen." Merle told him and I threw up in my mouth a little more.

"Hmm. She any good?" Jacob asked him and I tensed

"She's decent, but I don't really like to share." Merle told him and I see Jacob nod to the two others who quickly grabbed Merle pushing him to the ground then suddenly Jacob grabbed me.

"No!" I screamed trying to fight against him, "Merle!" I yelled and saw him try to get up but 3 of the men pull him back and start beating on him while Jacob held a knife to my throat while the other guy walked over to me.

"Oooh she has some fight in her." The guy said touching my face and I jerked away

"What do you say dear? Wanna try someone else out for a change?" Jacob asked me and I tried to struggle against him, "Now, now easy, fighting will just make it worse."

"Let go of her!" Merle yelled then I see one of the men kick him in the gut.

The one in front of me leaned in and sniffed my hair making my skin crawl, "So Jacob, you want the first go?" He asked running his hand down my front resting it on my hip.

"Hmm, nah man you can have her first." Jacob told him and the guy smirked moving his hand to the front of my pants touching me in the spot that only Daryl is allowed to touch.

"Mmm she feels nice." He says then grabbed my hair pulling me away from Jacob and threw m on the ground, I went to crawl away but he grabbed my legs and pulled me back to him, "Don't fight it sweetheart. Just let it happen." He says and I continued trying fight against him hearing the other men continue to beat on Merle. I moved the hand that I wasn't using to hold him back around the ground trying to find something, anything to use. I feel him start to unbutton my pants then I found a rock, just big enough for me to use, I grabbed it and swung as hard as I could hitting him upside the head.

"Ahh!"

He fell to the ground and I got over him and continued beating his skull in until he was dead then got up and went over to the others, "How was sh-" Jacob began to ask but I hit him with the rock as well then kicked him in the gut grabbing his knife, I hit him on the shoulder and when he went down I stabbed him in the head. The 3 others came over to me and I backed up a little then I saw a tree branch above my head and jumped grabbing it then swung and kicked one of them then got down and killed him. Just as I was about to go for the other two I saw one get stabbed from behind and the other looked back getting stabbed too, I looked and saw Merle standing there. With tears in my eyes I dropped the knife and wrapped my arms around him, I have never hugged him ever but I was so scared out of my mind that I didn't care.

"Hey it's alright I got you." He says and I cry looking at the dead men. I couldn't even speak right now.

"I-I didn't want to-"

"Hey now," He says putting his hands on my shoulders making me look at him, "You did what you had to." He told me and I nodded, "Come on, let's get cleaned up and you can rest."

* * *

After Merle dragged the bodies away I sat at the fire in the change of clothes I had in my bag and just stared at the flames until Merle sat down across from me, "You okay?" I asked him and he chuckled.

"Hell, I used to get worse beating from my daddy. This ain't nothin', they hit like pussies."

"I really thought that-"

"Don't do that to yourself," He says cutting me off, "What you did was self defense. Don't even start to blame yourself." He told me and I looked at the flames again then eventually got comfortable and fell asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**We are the Walking Dead**

 **Daryl POV...**

I slowly crept up on a rabbit I was hunting and shot it but then another arrow hit it the same time mine did, "What the hell are you doing?" I asked the guy named Len from a group I ran into after I lost Beth. I don't know what happened, one minute I told her to run when the funeral home got over run then the next I saw that car drive away.

"Catching me some breakfast."

"That's mine." I tell him walking over to the rabbit

"My arrow's the one that hit first. Cottontail belongs to me."

"Been out here since before the sun came up." I point out

"You see, the rules of the hunt don't mean jack out here. Now, that rabbit you're holding is claimed, boy. Claimed whether you like it or not. So I was you, I'd hand it over. Now before you get to wishing you ain't never even got out of bed this morning."

"It ain't yours." I said

"You know, I'll bet this bitch got you all messed up, hmm? Am I right? Got you walking around here like a dead man who just lost himself a piece of tail. Must have been a good'un. Tell me something. Was it one of the little'uns?" He asked I knew he was talking about Beth, they didn't know about Kate, I reached down and grabbed my knife, "'Cause they don't last too long out here." He says and I was just about to attack him when Joe, the leader, walked over

"Easy, fellas, easy." He says putting my hand down, "Let's just put our weapons down. See if we can't figure out what's really the problem here, huh? Did you claim it?" He asked Len

"Hell, yeah."

"Well, there you go. That critter belongs to Len." He tells me and I stood there looking at him not giving in, "Looks like you may be wanting an explanation. See, going it alone, that ain't an option nowadays. Still, it is survival of the fittest. That's a paradox right there. So I laid out some rules of the road to keep things from going Darwin every couple hours. Keep our merry band together and stress-free. All you got to do is claim. That's how you mark your territory, your prey, your bed at night. One word, claimed."

"I ain't claiming nothing." I said to him

"We're gonna teach him, right?" Len asked Joe, "The rules say we got to teach him."

"It wouldn't be fair to punish you for violating a rule you never even knew existed."

"There ain't no rules no more." I point out

"Oh, there are. You know that. That's why I didn't kill you for the crossbow." He says and grabbed the rabbit and I jerked, "Easy there, partner." He lifted the rabbit up but I didn't let go then he took his machete and cut the rabbit in half giving Len the head, "Claimed. That's all you got to say. Hey, ass end is still an end."

* * *

"So what's the plan, Daryl?" Joe asked me as we walked along a train track.

"How so?"

"You're with us now, but you ain't soon?" He asked

"Yep."

"So what's the plan?" He asks

"Just looking for the right place is all." I tell him, and my wife and brother

"Oh, we ain't good enough for you, huh?"

"Some of you ain't exactly friendly." I mention looking at Len

"You ain't so friendly yourself. You know you need a group out here."

"Maybe I don't." I said

"No, you do. You should be with us. People don't got to be friendly. We don't have to be nice. We don't have to be brothers in arms. We just got to follow the rules. You claim. If you steal, you keel. I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when something goes missing. And you don't lie. 'Cause that's a slippery slope indeed." He explained

"What happens if you break 'em?" I asked

"Oh, you catch a beatin'. The severity of which depends upon the offense and the general attitude of the day. But that don't happen much 'cause when men like us follow rules and cooperate a little bit, well, the world becomes ours." He says and we come up on a shed, "Right there. It's our abode for the evening."

"Hey. There ain't no us."

"You leaving right now?" He asked me, "No? Then it sure seems like there's an us. You a cat person, Daryl?" I shook my head, "I am. Loved 'em since I was three years old. Vicious creatures. Anyway, I'll tell you, and this is true, ain't nothing sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat." He says and we head inside, the others walked around to old cars claiming them, I gave up and went to the middle then laid on the floor looking at Len then looked at the ceiling and feel Kate's dog tags against my chest, I really hoped I was getting closer to finding her and that I wasn't with this group when I did, who knows what they would do to her. Granted between me and Merle no one would touch her, but I can't take the risk. I have to find her, I need to hold her again.

* * *

"White Lightning. Easiest thing to make with the least amount of supplies." He says handing me a flask the next day as we began walking on the tracks again, "I'd start slow if I was you. Your stomach's probably emptier than you think."

I take a drink and hand it back to him, "Mmm. I ain't been lit at dawn since before everything fell apart."

"Fell apart. I never looked at it like that. Seems to me like things are finally starting to fall together. At least for guys like us. Living like this, surviving. We've been doing this from the start, right? Getting closer." He said and we come up on a sign for Terminus.

"You seen this before?" I asked him, if Kate and Merle saw these they would beheading there, maybe looking for me or the others.

"Oh, yeah. I'll tell you what it is. It's a lie. Ain't no sanctuary for all. Ain't gonna welcome guys like you and me with open arms."

"So is that where we're headed?" I asked him

"So now you're asking?"

"That's right." I replied

"We were in a house minding our own business and this walking piece of fecal matter was hiding in the home. Strangled our colleague Lou and left him to turn. Lou came at all of us. He lit out. We tracked him to these tracks, one of those signs, and thus we've got a destination in mind."

"You see his face?" I asked

"Only Tony. That's enough for a reckoning." He says, "You have someone before all this Daryl?" He asked and I looked at him.

"No, after. I lost her" Wasn't a complete lie, I just didn't want to put her in danger by telling him the truth."

"Sorry to hear that. Love isn't easy nowadays is it?" He asked and I nodded then we came up on a path of woods and saw a snuffed out fire with blood around the area, "Geez, wonder what happened here." He says and we glance once more at it and continue on.

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

After a few more days of walking we finally made it to Terminus, we walked through the gate and looked around seeing rows and rows of vegetables. We get to and open area and see a lady standing there on a make shift grill area cooking some food, "Oh hello." She greeted

"Hi." I replied as we got closer and saw someone else standing by her.

"Hi, welcome to Terminus. You two look like you have been traveling for a while." The guy says and walked over to the grill, I looked at it then at Merle, we both shared a look because that wasn't a kind of meat we had seen before, "Here, you must be hungry." the man offered us a couple plates and we grabbed them but didn't do anything but hold them, "I'm Gareth. What's your names?"

"I'm um..I'm Kate." I introduced and looked at Merle

"Merle."

"Pretty interesting hand you got there Merle, how did that happen?" Gareth asked

"An accident, pissed off the wrong person." He says and I gave him a side glance then looked around, I noticed some things that seemed familiar that people had on them.

"So what did you two do before all this?" The lady asked

"Nothing, I was a loner." Merle answered and i looked at them

"I was in the Army."

"Wow, interesting." Gareth says and I see him look at the woman then back at us, "So let me ask you both, What is it you want?"

I shrugged looking down at the meat on my plate then looked back at Gareth, "Right now, kind of just want to find our friends." I tell him and he chuckled then looked at us.

"You didn't answer the question." He says and I looked at him confused then looked at Merle.

"Run." He whispered to me and we dropped the plates then began to run back the way we came but suddenly gun shots went off at our feet so we switched directions but as we went to another part of the place more gunshots hit at our feet until we got to an area by a fence seeing people pop up from the grass aiming weapons at us.

"You can put your weapons down now, or else it'll get worse for you." Gareth yells to us and I turned to face the people who were on the roof aiming guns at us as well. Me and Merle exchanged a look then we put our guns down on the ground, "And the knife too Captain Hook," He says to Merle who clenched his jaw then removed the blade from his metal arm dropping it on the ground, "Alright, Hook you go to that train car on your left and stand at the stairs," Gareth told him and we both glanced at the train car sitting there, Merle looked at me and hesitated, "Do it or we will kill the Soldier," I looked at them then Merle and nodded, he glared up at them and walked over to the car standing at the bottom of the steps, "Now you Soldier," Gareth says I took one more look at all of them and walked over standing behind Merle, "Enter the train car now." Gareth demanded and Merle walked up the steps sliding the door open then walked in and I followed shortly after then it shut behind us.

"You ok?" Merle asked me and I nodded

"Kate? Merle?" We hear someone ask and I turned to see Glenn and Maggie appear from the other side of the train car

"Oh my god." I gasped rushing over to them and pulled Glenn into a hug then Maggie then looked at them, "How are you- are you both ok?" I asked and they nodded their heads as I see Sasha and Bob, I went over and hugged them as well.

"Well spank me rosey." I hear someone say and I look up seeing a familiar face

"Abraham?" I asked in shock and he chuckled as I went and hugged him, "How in the hell are you here?" I asked him

"Well that is a long beautiful story we can save for another time." He says and I chuckled

"How do you two know each other?" Sasha asked me

"We were in the same troop together before this little scrapper got discharged." Abraham answered.

"Well that's very touching, but hows about we find a way out of this mess huh?" Merle says and I glare at him

"Merle." I warned him and he looked at me then shut his mouth and I looked at Maggie and Glenn, "Did either of you see Daryl? Rick? Carl?" I asked them and they shook their head, I closed my eyes feeling a hand on my shoulder and saw Maggie, "Maggie, I am so sorry." I tell her holding back tears as my voice broke and she pulled me into a hug.

* * *

"How long have you been in here?" I asked all of them

"About 2 days give or take." Sasha answered

"Who are these people?" Tara asked

"Their not people," I answered and they looked at me, "Their cannibals, you saw that meat. Now we've seen a bunch of different kinds but that was not any kind of animal I've seen."

"Same here, looks like these people prefer to munch on long pig." Merle adds

"Merle.." I warned and he sighed

"You two together or something?" Abraham asked me and I gagged

"No, no way. He's my brother in law." I replied then suddenly we hear gunshots go off.

"Drop your weapons! Now!" We hear Gareth yell and we all looked at each other, "Now!" he yells and there was a pause, "Ringleader, go to your left. The train car, go." He ordered to whoever was out there, "You do what we say, the boy goes with you. Anything else, he dies and you end up in there anyway." He says and I look at Maggie with a hopeful look and she puts her hand on my arm, it has to be them, "Now the archer." Gareth says and I look at Merle, "Now the samurai. Stand at the door, ringleader, archer, samurai."

"My son." Someone yelled outside the door, I knew that voice

"Go, kid. Ringleader, open the door and go in." Gareth ordered

"I'll go in with him."

"Don't make us kill him now." Gareth warned and suddenly the train door opened and I see him, my brother walk in then the others, I smiled as the door shut and he pulled Carl to him.

"Rick!" I said rushing over to him and he turned to face me as I wrapped my arms around him.

"Oh, thank god." He says and I look at him smiling then hugged my nephew, I turned and looked at Daryl, I started to cry as I went over to him and he pulled me into a hug burying his face in my hair.

"I can't believe you're here." I tell him with my voice breaking and he looked at me.

"I can't either." He says and kissed me, I wrapped my arms around his neck then hugged him again seeing Rick walk over to Merle.

"Thank you." Rick says holding his hand out to him.

"No thanks needed officer friendly, that's what family does." Merle told him and I gave a small smile resting my head on Daryl's shoulder while Rick looked at everyone else then looked at Abraham, Rosita, Tara and Eugene.

"They're our friends. They helped save us." Maggie told him

"Yeah. Now they're friends of ours." Daryl says

"For however long that'll be." Abraham said

"No." Rick says and walked over to the door, "They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out."

"Find out what?" Abraham asked him and we all looked at Rick.

"They're fuckin' with the wrong people"


	17. Chapter 17

**We are the Walking Dead**

"They seemed nice enough, but I was ready to go. We just got here, but, damn, it was time to go. When I told them about DC, a wink and a nod from the head asshole in charge, they pulled their guns and it was right back to our regularly scheduled shitstorm." Abraham says

"Before they put you in here, you didn't see Tyreese?" Sasha asked

"No." Michonne told her

"Good."

"Black car with a white cross painted on it. I tried to follow it. I tried." Daryl says to Maggie about Beth

"But she's alive?"

"She's alive." He says

* * *

We all stood in the train car taking what we could and turning them into weapons, I found a loose piece of wood on the side of the car and Merle broke it off with his metal arm then I tore a piece of my shirt off wrapping it around it so I wouldn't cut my hand.

"All right, got four of them pricks coming our way." Daryl told us then walked over to me putting his hand on my arm.

"Y'all know what to do. Go for their eyes first. Then their throats." Rick says

"Put your backs to the walls on either side of the car now." Someone ordered then we hear foot steps on the roof as Daryl stood by me and it opens then we see a flash bang dropped in.

"Move!" Abraham yelled and Daryl covered me as it goes off then the next thing I knew he was being pulled away from me

"No!" I yelled but Merle held me back and I fought against him as the door shut and I went over to hit pounding on it and cried then Maggie came over and hugged me.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Abraham asked trying to look out the door after we hear an explosion.

"Someone hit them. Maybe our people got free." Michonne mentioned

"Excuse me." Eugene says moving past Tara and Sasha

"What the hell are you doing?" Rosita asked him

"I might be able to use this shell to compromise the door. From the sound of things, there may not be anybody left to open it."

"Eugene, I'm sorry, but shut up." Tara tells him

"Hey. My dad's gonna be back." Carl reassured us, "They all are." He says looking at me and I put my hand on his shoulder giving him a smile.

"They are. And we need to get ready to fight our way out with them when they do." Maggie adds and I nodded my head and used a sharp corner of the car to sharpen it.

* * *

"What's the cure, Eugene?" Sasha asked him

"It's classified."

"We don't know what's gonna happen." Michonne mentioned

"You leave him be." Abraham told her

"We need to keep working." I said

"Yeah, but it's time to hear it. 'Cause we don't know what's coming next."

"What's next is we get out of this." Tara says

"Even if I told you all, even if I provided step-by-step instructions complete with illustrations and a well-composed FAQ and I went red-ring, the cure would still die with me."

"I'm not gonna let that happen." Abraham told him

"The best-case scenario, we step out into a hellstorm of bullets, fire, and walkers. I'm not fleet of foot. I sure as hell can't take a dead one down with sharp buttons and hella confidence."

"Yeah, but we can and we will." Michonne tells him

"You don't owe us anything. Not yet. But we just want to hear it." Sasha told him

"You don't have to." Rosita said and Eugene stood up

"I was part of a 10-person team at the Human Genome Project to weaponize diseases to fight weaponized diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms with pathogenic microorganisms. Fire with fire. Interdepartmental drinks were had, relationships made, information shared. I am keenly aware of all the details behind fail-safe delivery systems to kill every living person on this planet. I believe with a little tweaking on the terminals in DC, we can flip the script. Take out every last dead one of them. Fire with fire. All things being equal, it does sound pretty badass."

"So let's get back to work." Maggie tells us

We hear a banging on the door and got ready but it opened up and we saw Rick there with a gun, "Come on! Fight to the fence!" He says and I ran out up to Daryl who grabbed me then handed me a knife and we proceeded on killing walkers.

"Do not leave his side!" Abraham ordered the others and I pulled Carl to me keeping him by my side as Abraham guarded Eugene.

"Up and over." Rosita tells us and we move to the fence, everybody went over then I helped my nephew over, Daryl helped me over and I waited there for him and he grabbed my hand as we made our way into the woods.

"Right here." Daryl tells him and tossed the shovel to Rick who started digging and I hugged Daryl who kissed my head.

"The hell are we still around here for?" Abraham asked Rick

"Guns, some supplies. Go along the fences. Use the rifles. Take out the rest of 'em.

"What?" Glenn asked him

"They don't get to live."

"Rick, we got out. It's over." I added

"It's not over till they're all dead."

"The hell it isn't. That place is on fire. Full of walkers." Rosita told him

"I'm not dicking around with this crap. We just made it out."

"The fences are down. They'll run or die." Maggie said and I glanced over Daryl's shoulder and saw someone walk towards us, Daryl followed my gaze then ran over to Carol wrapping her up in his arms hugging her and we all moved forward then Rick walked up to her

"Did you do that?" He asked her and she gave a small nod then hugged him, "You have to come with me." She told us and we walked with her

We come up on a small house and I saw Tyreese walk out the door holding Judith, I nearly fell to my knees but I ran over to them following Rick with Carl and Sasha behind me. Rick grabbed Judith and hugged her while crying then Sasha hugged Tyreese, me and Carl smiled at her and I kissed her head as tears fells from my eyes while Rick silently thanked Tyreese.

* * *

I walked over to Rick and smiled at Judith, he handed her to me and I hugged her then kissed her head, "Hey you. You really are a little ass kicker huh?" I asked her and smiled at Daryl then kissed her head again.

"I don't know if the fire is still burning." Rick pointed out looking at the smoke from Terminus

"It is." Carol answered

"Yeah. We need to go."

"Yeah, but where?" Daryl asked him as I handed Judith back to him.

"Somewhere far away from there."

We started walking on the tracks, Daryl was holding my hand then lifted it up and kissed it, I smiled at him and we made our way into the woods.

* * *

When we stopped to rest and I was sitting next to Daryl leaning my head on his shoulder, "I love you" I tell him and he looked at me

"I love you too," I kissed him and he looked at me, "Are you okay?" He asked me and I nodded but he looked at me unconvinced, "Kate?"

"When me and Merle were following the tracks we came up on a small group, they offered us to join them by the fire and we did. I thought they seemed nice until..." I paused then sighed, "Until the main guy started asking Merle questions, about me."

"Like what?"

"If we were together. Merle lied to them and said we weren't but played it off like we were just two lonely people, it made me throw up a little to be honest. Well then 3 of them grabbed Merle and started to beat him and the leader grabbed me. One of them...tried to..." I struggled to say and he put his hand on my face.

"Did he..."

"No, no I um...I killed him and the leader, then one of the guys who was beating up Merle. Before I could kill the other 2 coming at me Merle got them. I didn't want to..."

"Hey," He stopped me and I looked at him with tears in my eyes, "I'm so sorry you went through that," He says wiping a tear away, "But you didn't do anything wrong, you protected yourself and a member of your family. Okay?" He asked and I nodded, "I ain't letting you out of my sight again." He told me and I kissed him.

"I love you." I sniffled and he kissed my head

"I love you too, always will."

I looked over at Rick who was standing there taking watch, "I'll be right back." I tell Daryl and got up walking over to him, "Hey." I said and he faced me then pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so happy you're ok." He told me and I smiled

"Me too, I was so scared, I thought I lost you, and Carl, Daryl, Judith." I mention looking over at her sitting next to Carl, "When I saw the car seat I...I felt my heart stop."

"Me too, but she's here, we're all here." He said and I hugged him again

"I love you big brother."

"I love you too, I'm thankful that you were with Merle." He says and I chuckle

"How did that taste coming out?" I asked with a smirked and he lightly pushed me.

"Shut up." He says and I laughed walking back over to Daryl and snuggled up next to him.

* * *

"Wanna come with me?" Daryl asked and I nodded my head

As we walked through the woods hunting for something to eat and getting a few squirrels Daryl stopped me and I looked at him, he put his hand on my face and kissed me, I moaned into his mouth as it deepened while he backed me up against a tree. He set his crossbow down then looked at me, "Are you ok?" He asked and I knew why he did.

"I'm ok, I promise, but I don't think this is the right time for this." I giggled but he kissed me again then gripped my thighs lifting me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist while he played with the bottom of my shirt pushing me up against the tree.

"Can't help it. I want you." He says in my ear then proceeded to undo my pants and I did the same to him. After I pushed his down slightly he pushed into me and started to pick up the pace gripping my thighs as I gripped his shoulders.

"Oh god" I moaned leaning my head back and he kissed my neck again then lightly bit it picking up the pace more, "Daryl!" I silently screamed

"Kate," He grunted making noises like an animal in heat and it was such a turn on, "Are you ready?" He growled in my ear and I bit my lip as it sent tingles down my whole body, he grunted and I let go digging my nails into his shoulder and he kissed me at the same time I moaned a little louder then I wanted to in his mouth. He pushed into me a few more times then finished as well, he laid his head on my collarbone while we tried to catch our breath

After we straightened ourselves up, we headed back to the others and we see them raise their guns at us so we raised our hands, "We surrender" Daryl told them and walked up to Rick as I walked over to Maggie who looked at me with a smirk

"Shush"

I hear Rick whistle to all of us and I looked at him, "Keep close"

"So," Abraham says walking up to me, "What happened to you after I saw you last?"

"I went back home, started a relationship with my brother partner on the force."

"That Shane guy you talked about?" He asked and I nodded, I haven't thought about him in long time.

"Yeah, we broke up before the world ended up this way. He didn't really accept it though."

"Where is he now?" Abraham asked and I looked at Rick

"Dead." I answered, "I didn't want to ask this at the moment but...what happened to Ellen? and the kids?" I asked him and saw the look on his face, "I am so sorry."

"Thank you, and I'm sorry about..."

"Don't be, I know it sounds rude but...in the end, he got what came to him." I said and looked back up at Rick, I knew it was still hard for him that he had to do that.

"Help! Anybody, help!" We hear someone yell in the distance

"Dad come on," Carl told him and Rick looked at us, "Come on, come on" He persisted and we ran following the guys voice.

We came up on a man on top of a giant rock with a few walkers reaching for him, Carl shoots one while Rick, me and Michonne get the others. Just then I hear a walker come up next to me but Daryl shot it and I looked at him.

"We're clear. Keep watch." Rick tells us then looked at the guy, "Come on down." He said and the guy climbed down, "You okay?" Rick asked him and the man held up his finger then threw up, I turned and looked away, walker guts I can somewhat handle, people throwing up though, nope.

"Sorry. Yes. Thank you. I'm Gabriel."

"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick asked him

"Do I look like I would have any weapons?"

"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like." Abraham tells him

"I have no weapons of any kind. The word of God is the only protection I need."

"Oh geez" Merle groaned quietly and I nudged him, he gave me a look then I looked back at Gabriel

"Sure didn't look like it." Daryl pointed out

"I called for help. Help came. Do you have- have any food? Whatever I- I had left, it just hit the ground."

"We've got some pecans." Carl told him handing him some

"Thank you." He says and Judith coo'd, "That's a beautiful child." He tells us and I walked over to Tyreese taking her from him and backed up with her then Merle and Daryl stood in front of me, I just found out she was alive, I'm not taking any chances and I'll die to protect her, "Do you have a camp?" He asked

"No. Do you?" Rick asked him

"I have a church."

"Hold your hands above your head." Rick tells him and he does so, "How many walkers have you killed?" Rick asked patting him down

"Not any, actually."

"Turn around." Rick ordered and he does, "How many people have you killed?"

"None."

"Why?" Rick asked

"Because the Lord abhors violence."

"What have you done? We've all done something." Rick says

"I'm a sinner. I sin almost every day. But those sins, I confess them to God, not strangers."

"You said you had a church?" Michonne asked him

* * *

"Hey, earlier, were you watching us?" Rick asked him as we followed him to his church

"I keep to myself. Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?"

"No, people are worse." Daryl says

"Well, I wasn't watching you. I haven't been beyond the stream near my church more than a few times since it all started. That was the furthest I've gone before today. Or maybe I'm lying. Maybe I'm lying about everything and there's no church ahead at all. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels." He joked but we all looked at him unamused, "Members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humor leaves much to be desired."

"Yeah, it does." Daryl says and we arrive at the church, Gabriel headed up the steps and was about to unlock the door when Rick stopped him

"Hold up. Can we take a look around first? We just want to hold on to our squirrels." He says and I hand Judith to Carl then grab my gun aiming it as Rick opened the door. We walked in and looked around. Michonne, Carol and Glenn walked into another room and I stood there looking at a painting lost in my thoughts when I turned around and bumped into someone causing me to jump, I look and see Daryl standing there with a smirk on his face

"Not funny mister." I smacked his chest smiling then we headed back outside with the others.

"I spent months here without stepping out the front door. If you found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising." Gabriel told us

"Thanks for this." Carl says to him

"We found a short bus out back. It don't run, but I bet we could fix that in less than a day or two. Father here says he doesn't want it. Looks like we found ourselves some transport. You understand what's at stake here, right?" Abraham asked Rick

"Yes, I do."

"Now that we can take a breath-" Michonne says

"We take a breath, we slow down, shit inevitably goes down." Abraham cut her off

"We need supplies no matter what we do next." Michonne tells him

"That's right. Water, food, ammunition." Rick adds and headed inside

"Short bus ain't going nowhere. Bring you back some baked beans." Daryl tells him and we followed Rick

"How'd you survive here for so long? Where did your supplies come from?" Rick asked Gabriel

"Luck. Our annual canned food drive. Things fell apart right after we finished it. It was just me."

"Come here, Judith." I said taking her from Rick and walked away

"The food lasted a long time. And then I started scavenging. I've cleaned out every place nearby. Except for one." Gabriel says

"What kept you from it?" Rick asked him

"It's overrun."

"How many?" Rick asked

"A dozen or so. Maybe more."

"We can handle a dozen." Rick told him

"Bob and I will go with you. Tyreese should stay here, help keep Judith safe." Sasha says to Rick

"That'll be okay?" He asked Tyreese

"Sure. You ever need me to watch her, need anything for her, I'm right here."

"I'm grateful for it. And everything else." Rick tells him

"Me too." I agreed and he smiled at me

"I'll draw you a map." Gabriel says

"You don't need to. You're coming with us."

"I'm not gonna be of any help. You saw me. I'm no good around those things." Gabriel defended

"You're coming with us."

* * *

"Hey, I get it. You don't want to talk about it." Daryl says to Carol as we walk back from the stream getting water

"You okay?" I asked her

"Gotta be."

"We get to start over. All of us with each other. You saved us all by yourself." He tells her

"We got lucky. We all should be dead." She says and we see a car up ahead, "I'll check it." She says walking ahead of us and Daryl looked at me

"Are you ok?" He asked

"Why do you keep asking me that?" I asked him

"Everything that happened, I know it wasn't..."

"Daryl," I said and stopped him, "I'm ok, I promise. If I'm not I'll tell you, but having you with me, and my family, it makes it better." I tell him and he kissed my head

"I love you," He says

"I love you too," I replied and we walk up to the car

"Hey. We ain't dead. And whatever happened, happened. Let's start over." He tells Carol

"I want to."

"Well, you can." I said

"We should leave this here for backup in case things go south at the church." She pointed out to us closing the trunk and bent to grab her jugs of water

"Want me to carry one of those?" Daryl asked her lifting his arm up but dropped the one he was holding, me and her tried to hold back a smile

"No." She tells him and he bent over picking it up as she walked away and I chuckled

"Keep laughing and I'll pour this on you" He told me and I smiled

"You could but then my clothes would be all wet."

"I wouldn't mind that, then I can take them off of you." He says and I giggled

I looked at him and smirked, "Down boy" I tell him and we walked back to the church.

* * *

We all gathered around in the church talking and laughing while we ate, I was sitting next to Daryl looking at Judith give Rick a bite of food and I smiled.

"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham says and we all stop talking and look at him, "I look around this room... and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title. To the survivors." He raised his glass

"Survivors!" Everyone cheered and I looked at Carol

"Is that all you want to be? Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat? 'Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip." He adds and Daryl grabbed my hand giving it a squeeze, "Eugene, what's in DC?" He asked him

"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."

"However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there... who don't got nothing left to do except survive." Abraham says and Judith coo'd

"What was that?" Rick asked her, "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in." Rick says and everyone clapped. I smiled then looked at Carol again and saw her walk out of the church, I nudged Daryl and we followed her.

We see her kill a walker then look at us, "What are you doing?" I asked her

"I don't know."

"You're just gonna leave? After we all just found each other?" I asked her and she looked at me about to say something then we hear a car approach, we ducked behind the one we found then Daryl ran out to the road and ran back taking the stock of his crossbow and smashed the tail lights

"Whoa, whoa! What are you doing? What are you doing?" Carol asked him

"They got Beth. Come on. Come on, get in." He tells us and we get in then he drives following the car.

* * *

"So it was just you and Beth after?" Carol asked Daryl from the drivers seat

"Yeah."

"You save her?" I asked him

"She's tough. She saved herself. We were out there for a while. We got cornered, she got out in front of me and...I don't know, she was gone. I came out and a car's pulling out with a white cross on the window."

"Just like that one?" She asked

"Yep. Rick's gonna wonder where we went." I point out

"Tank's runnin' low." Daryl mentioned

"We can end this quick. Just run him off the road." Carol says and I looked at her

"Nah, we're good for a bit."

"If they're holding her somewhere, we can get it out of the driver." She pointed out

"Yeah, but if he don't talk, we're back to square one. Right now we got the advantage. We'll see who they are. If they're a group, see what they can do. And then we'll do what we gotta do to get her back."

"They're heading north, I-85." I tell him from the middle of the back seat

We stopped a ways back from there we were and watched, "What the hell's he waiting for?" Daryl asked then someone gets of the passenger side, "There's two of 'em."

"Is that a cop?" I asked seeing the person in a uniform

"They might've seen us." Carol says and suddenly a walker hits her window and we jumped

"Jesus" I whispered trying to calm my heart, I look out the front and see the people heading back and one stopped then looked in our direction, then he gets in and they drove off. Daryl went to start the car but it just sputters

"Aw, shit! Tank's tapped. They'd have taken the bypass and they didn't. They must be holed up in the city somewhere." He says and we hear walkers moaning from up ahead

"We gotta move, find someplace to hole up till sunlight." I point out

"I know a place just a couple of blocks from here. We can make it." She says rolling down her window and stabbed the walker

* * *

"Two more." Carol says as Daryl worked on opening the door

"I almost got it." He says and Carol moved away then he gets it opened

"Come on." I tell her and we head inside

"You used to work here or something?" He asked her

"Something."

"What's this place?" I asked

"It's temporary housing." Carol answered

"You came here?" He asked Carol as we enter a room with a bunk bed

"We didn't stay." She says and I looked down, "I'll take the top bunk. I think that one's more your style." She tells us, "No fooling around." She said and I gave a small smile, "You should sleep. I'll take first watch."

"This is locked up pretty tight." Daryl told her

"I know."

"Then we're good, then." He says and I sat down on the bottom bed

"I'll keep first watch. I don't mind."

"Suit yourself." He told her and sat next to me then laid down pulling me with him

"You said we get to start over." Carol says

"Yeah."

"Did you?" She asked him

"I'm tryin'." He answered and looked at me, I smiled at him, "Why don't you say what's really on your mind?" He asked her

"I don't think we get to save people anymore."

"Then why are you here?" He asked her

"I'm tryin'" She says

"When we were out by the car... what if we didn't show up?" I asked her

"I still don't know." She says and then we hear a distant banging. We get up and walk out to a set of doors seeing a walker bang on the glass, then another one appear, a child, I felt my heart twist with pain as I held back a few tears and Carol moved forward

"You don't have to. You don't." He said stopping her and she walked away, I looked at him and shook my head as well. I can't do children walkers, I just...can't.

* * *

The next morning me and Carol woke up and saw smoke coming from the the roof, I noticed Daryl wasn't next to me so we got up and headed out of the room and saw a fire on the roof, we walked outside as he carried the body of the kid walker placing it in the fire.

"Thank you." Carol tells him and I grabbed his hand, he leaned over and kissed my head

* * *

"That car was headed downtown." Daryl says as we gather up our stuff, "I say we get up in one of the tall ones, get ourselves a view, see what we see."

"Stay close to the buildings and keep quiet, but sooner or later, we're gonna be drawing 'em." Carol added and we headed out

We stood behind a building hiding from the walkers that were on the street, "All right, we can get up there. There's a bridge." Daryl says taking his bag off setting it down and then reached inside pulling out a notepad and handed me his crossbow. He lit the notepad on fire and threw it into the street attracting the walkers, I handed him his crossbow then we moved making our way to the bridge. We see tents and sleeping bags in the hallway of it, "Some days, I don't know what the hell to think." He says and we walk through the walkers that were trapped in the tents and sleeping bags. I get to the door and there's a chain on it so we had to crawl through, Carol put her bag and gun through first then crawled through while Daryl held the door then he motioned for me to go, once I got up I pushed it open for him grabbing his crossbow for him, "Good thing we skipped breakfast." He says and I chuckled

"Tell that to my stomach." I said and he got up grabbing his crossbow then we walked to a set of doors, he opened them as me and Carol hung back then whistled at us and we walked into an office walking up to the window and looked out the window at the burned city below us

"How did we get here?" Carol asked and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder

"Mm-mm. We just did." Daryl told her

"You still haven't asked me what happened. After I met up with Tyreese, the girls."

"Yeah, I know what happened. They ain't here." He pointed out

"It was worse than that."

"The reason I said we get to start over...is because we gotta. The way it was..." Daryl started to say

"Yeah." Carol says and I look out the window seeing something in the distance

"You see something?" Daryl asked me

"I don't know. Hand me that rifle." I tell him and Carol handed it to me then I held it up looking through the scope, "Right there." I pointed and handed it to him so he could look.

"It's been there a while. Definitely one of 'em." Carol pointed out

"It's definitely some kind of lead." Daryl added

"We should fill up." Carol says and grabbed a bottle out her bag then the one out of mine filling them up at the water cooler and I see Daryl look at the painting on the wall, I walked over and leaned my chin on his shoulder

"What?" I asked him

"I bet this cost some rich prick a lot of money. Looks like a dog sat in paint, wiped its ass all over the place." He gestured and I laughed nudging his shoulder with mine as Carol turned to look

"Really? I kinda like it." Carol tells him

"Stop."

"I'm serious. You don't know me." She says

"Yep, you keep tellin' yourself that." He replied and they looked at me

"I agree with her, in fact I knew someone who had a painting similar to this." I said and Daryl kissed me quick then we headed back to the door, I went first this time putting my rifle through, but as I stand up I stand up I see a boy standing there pointing his gun at me so I kept my rifle on the ground raising my hands as I stood up, I see Carol come through looking at him then Daryl.

"Daryl, don't." I tell him

"Get up. Hands up, both of you." He says to her and Daryl, "Gun down," He says and I looked at Carol, she sets it down then I looked at Daryl, "Lay down your crossbow." He says to him

"You got some sack on you." Daryl tells him

"Look, nobody has to get hurt. I just need weapons, that's it. So, please, lay down your crossbow." He says and Daryl put it down, "Back up." He told us and we moved back grabbing my gun, Carol's rifle and Daryl's crossbow, "Sorry about this. You look tough. You'll be all right." He says grabbing his knife then cut one of the tents open running away, Daryl grabbed his knife and killed one walker that came out and I killed the other, I see Carol raise her other gun and was about to shoot the kid but I moved her hands down, she looked at me and we followed him, we heard the door shut but as we got to it we couldn't open it so we looked for another exit

* * *

"Three bullets." Carol pointed out, "We're in the middle of a city. He was stealing our weapons. Did you think I was gonna kill him? I was aiming for his leg. Could that have killed him? Maybe, I don't know. But he was stealing our weapons."

"He's just a kid." I tell her while Daryl tired to open a door with his knife

"Without weapons we could die. Beth could die."

"We'll find more weapons." I said

"I don't want you to die." She tells me, "Or you," She says to Daryl, "I don't want Beth to die. I don't want anybody at the church to die, but I can't stand around and watch it happen either. I can't. That's why I left. I just had to be somewhere else."

"Well, you ain't somewhere else; you're right here. Tryin." He says to her

"Look, you're not who you were and neither am I or you for that matter Kate." I looked down as Daryl got the door open, it was true, I had changed, but I didn't let it consume me, "I don't know if I believe in God anymore or heaven, but if I'm going to hell, I'm making damn sure I'm holding it off as long as I can." She says grabbing her bag and stuff fell out of it, I see a book and picked it up then looked at her as she grabbed it from me, I put my hand on her arm then we followed Daryl through the door.

* * *

"All right, let's get this done." Daryl says as we walked up to the van that was balancing on the bridge and he opened the doors carefully.

"It's not stable. I'm lighter." I mentioned and he shook his head, "Daryl, we don't have time to argue" I tell him and I could see him mentally argue with himself then got in himself, I rolled my eyes at him then me and Carol see walkers coming our way so she gets in then I follow, she moved forward and I stayed in the back to at least try and keep it balanced as they looked around the front

"There's more coming. We're gonna have to fight through." I point out

"Yeah, I see 'em." Daryl added then walked over flipping a gurney

"We have to go." Carol told him

"GMH, what's that? A hospital?" He asked

"Grady Memorial." Carol says

"Grady, the white crosses- it might be where they're holing up." I add

We get out of the van and Carol shoots a walker then both me and Daryl stabbed two more

"Daryl!" I yelled as more came, to many for us to fight

"Go, go, go, go!" He tells us and helped me in after Carol then killed another one and got in as well closing the doors as the walkers banged on them

"Anything we can use?" Carol asked

"Nothin' but what we got." He says and slowly made his way up front then I followed and he pulled me into his seat and Carol got in the passenger one, "All right, buckle up." He told her and put the buckle over both of us, "You hold on." He says to me wrapping his arms around my body as the van started to shake, I grabbed Carol's hand as the van fell, I closed my eyes waiting for the impact while Daryl covered my head pulling me to him then the next thing I knew we crashed into the ground. Daryl groaned as we lifted our heads up from the air bag and I looked over at Carol.

"Carol?" I asked her

"I'm okay. We're okay." She answered then suddenly walkers started dropping down on us then we got out

Daryl pulled me to him looking me over, "I'm okay," He looked at my head and I flinched as he touched a sore spot, "Daryl," I said and he looked at me, "I'm okay" I told him and he kissed me then we walked over to Carol and I saw her holding her shoulder, "What is it?" I asked her

"Just my shoulder" She says and I lightly felt it

"Good news is it's not broken, it's gonna hurt like hell for a while though, try not to use it as much ok?" I said and she nodded her head.

* * *

"Here." Daryl handed her the canteen

"I'm fine."

"Prove it." He says and she took it, "How bad is it?" He asked her and she moved her shirt, I see the huge bruise on her shoulder so I sit down next to her looking at it.

"I've had worse." She says

"Damn, that was stupid." Daryl said

"We made good time down." I told him, "There's only three blocks between us and Grady."

"We need to find a place nearby, scope it out, see what we can see." Daryl pointed out

"You really think we're gonna find out what we need to know just by watching?" Carol asked him

"It's where we start. Come on."

* * *

"It's them." I said as I looked out the window of another office building we went into and Daryl walked over to me with a bag full of small bags of chips

"All right. Let's see what we see." He says handing me and Carol a bag, we opened them and started eating, "You said I ain't like how I was before?" Daryl asked her

"Yeah."

"How was I?" He asked

"It's like you were a kid. Now you're a man, a husband." She says and I smiled at her then Daryl

"What about you?" He asked her

"Me and Sophia stayed at that shelter for a day and a half before I went running back to Ed." She says and I walked away to the other window, "I went home, I got beat up, life went on, and I just kept praying for something to happen. But I didn't do anything. Not a damn thing. Who I was with him... she got burned away. And I was happy about that. I mean, not happy, but... And at the prison I got to be who I always thought I should be, thought I should've been. And then she got burned away. Everything now just... consumes you." She says and I wiped a tear away, Carol is slowly losing herself and it broke my heart.

"Well, hey...we ain't ashes." Daryl told her and we hear a door close in the distance and followed it. We came up on a walker with a bolt through it's neck.

"Is that yours?" I asked him and he killed the walker then pulled it out

"Yeah."

We hear gunfire then moved down the halls seeing the kid that took our weapons trying to fight a walker he moves away from it and it went towards Carol but before she could grab her knife it fell on her and I quickly killed it then we helped her up

"I'm good. I'm good. You go." She says and Daryl took off while I helped her up and we followed

I see Daryl stand up as the shelf fell on the kid, "Plea- please. I had to protect myself."

"Why you followin' us?" Daryl asked him

"I-I didn't, I swear! I thought you followed me."

"Bullshit." I said as a walker pushed on the door trying to get through and I see Daryl pick up a carton of cigarettes grabbing a pack out

"Come on. Plea- please! Please, please."

"Nah, I already helped you once. It ain't happenin' again." He says lighting a cigarette, "Have fun with Hoss over there." He says and started to walk away

"No. No, no, no. No. No, no, no! Please! Please! Please! I'm sorry, please! Please! Please, please!"

"Daryl. Daryl. Stop." Carol told him

"You almost died 'cause of him!"

"But I didn't." She pointed out

"Nah, let him be." He says and walked away

"I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry!"

"Daryl!" I called after him but he kept walking I looked at Carol as the walker came through the door and just as I was about to move to kill it a bolt hit it in the head and I turned to see Daryl standing there, Carol goes and pulled the walker off the shelf, Daryl lifted it up at the top and I helped the kid get out

"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

"You okay?" I asked Carol

"I'm still here."

"I gotta go. I gotta go. They're gonna come. They probably heard the shot. If they find me..." The kid says walking away from the window

"Who?" I asked him

"Them, people at the hospital."

"Wait, wait, wait, just tell us- is there a blonde girl there? You see a blonde girl?" Daryl asked stopping him

"Beth?"

"You know her?" I asked him

"She helped me get out, but she's still there."

"They're coming." Carol said from the window

"We gotta go now. We gotta go. We gotta go." The kid said walking away and we followed him, "The building next door has a basement. It's clear. We'll be safe." He tells us but then fell down, "Ah! Ah!"

"Go, I got him." He says to me and Carol so we kept going, I stopped and looked back at Daryl for a moment then when I looked back forward I see Carol get hit by a car.

"Carol!" I yelled rushing out then see two cops get out of the car so I pulled my gun on them, "Back up!" I warned and they drew their guns on me as well.

"Drop it, now. We can help her, we have a hospital. Do you want her to live?" He asked me and I looked down at Carol then hesitated before lowering my gun and handed it to the one cop. They gathered Carol up and I glanced back at the building Daryl was in then got in the back of the car.

* * *

I followed the stretcher Carol was lying on as the police officers wheeled her through the hospital as fast as they could, taking her to a room.

When I looked around taking in my surroundings, I came to a stop, freezing in the middle of the hall way looking at a girl, "Beth" I whispered under my breath and she looked at me.


	18. Chapter 18

**We are the Walking Dead**

 **Daryl POV...**

After me and Noah got back to the group at the church we get told that Maggie, Glenn, Tara, Eugene, Rosita and Abraham left to head to DC, and that Bob got bit at the food shelf then the survivors of Terminus got him but he died. I stood there and watched Sasha cut up some pews with an axe.

"It was- it was good you weren't here for it." Tyresse said as he handed me pipes from the organ

"She hanging in there?" I asked him

"No."

I looked over at Sasha then walked out of the church, "Are you gonna take the cross too?" Gabriel asked me

"If we need it" I told him sticking one of the pipes into the ground

* * *

"We'll get her." I reassured Rick as we sat in the truck making our way to the city

"We'll get both of them" He told me and I nodded then looked out the window. When Kate looked back at me through the doors of the building before getting into the car I figured out what she was doing, she went with to keep Carol safe, and hopefully make sure Beth was there, but that doesn't mean I wasn't worried about her.

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

"My name's Dawn." The lady in charge says to me walking into the room they gave me, I sat there and looked at her not saying a word, "I get it, you don't know us, and we don't know you. But you can't go anywhere until your friend gets better. This place can help her, if you just let us."

I see someone walk into the room and I see it was Beth, Dawn turned to look at her giving me a better view, seeing she was carrying a tray of food, "I thought, she might like something to eat." Beth shrugged, setting the plate on the bed.

"Thank you Beth." Dawn turned to me, "Could you leave us now?" She asked her and Beth nodded giving me one more look then leaving the room, "Sweet girl." Dawn pointed out.

"She seems to be." I agreed hiding the fact that I know Beth.

"So," Dawn says and moved over to lean on the wall, "What did you do before all this?" She asked me

"Army."

"Army, huh. So how did you end up here?" She asked

"I was actually discharged from the Army 2 months before all of this happened." I mentioned

"What for?"

"Got into a fist fight with another member of my troop." I said and she nodded her head, I tried to look for any expression on her face but didn't see any.

"Well everyone pulls their own weight around here, Beth is my ward after my other one left. I'm sure we can find something for you." She tells me and started to walk out

"Umm...actually..." I say standing up and she looked at me, "I have some medical training so maybe I can assist Dr. Edwards." I brought up and she stares at me, it was my only shot to make sure Carol was gonna be ok.

"I'll think about it." She says and walked out.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"At sundown we fire a shot into the air. Get two of them out on patrol. Then once it's dark enough that the rooftop spotter won't see us, we go. We cut the locks on one of the stairways, take it to the fifth floor. I open the door, Daryl and Merle take any guards out." Rick tells us as we gather in an abandoned building.

"How?" Tyresse asked him

"They slit their. This is all about us doing this quiet, keeping the upper hand. They're not expecting us. From there, we fan out. Knives and silenced weapons. We need to be fast. Tyresse, Sasha, take them. Daryl, Merle, you take care of whoever is in the kitchen. I got Dawn. If they're smart, the rest of them will give up. Then it'll be 5 on 3. 7 on 3 once we get a weapon to Beth and Kate."

"13 on three. The wards will help." Noah tells him

"That's best case. What's worst case?" Tyresse asked, "All it takes is one of those cops going down the hall at the wrong time. Then it's not quiet. All hands on deck. We're talking about a lot of bullets flying around."

"If that's what it takes." Sasha says

"It's not. If we get a couple of her cops alive out here, we do an even trade. Theirs for ours. Everybody goes home." Tyresse pointed out

"Yeah, I get it. And it might work. This will work." Rick tells him

"Nah, that'll work, too. You say this Dawn, she's just trying to keep it together, right?" I asked Noah

"Trying and doing are two different things."

"You take three of her cops away, what choices does she have? Everybody goes home. Like he says." I say to Rick and we share a look, this was about getting Kate, Carol and Beth out as safe as possible.

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

I was standing in Dr. Edwards office when there was a knock at the door, he looks at me then got up and answered it, "Beth." He says and I turn around to see her in the door way

"Can I?"

"Yeah, sure." He told her and she walked in then looked at me

"The woman in exam room two, what medicine would you give her?" She asked and I looked at her confused

"Dawn called it." He pointed out to her

"I know, but if you could, what would you give her?"

"She was in a car accident. She suffered internal injuries. It's just a guessing game." Edwards told her

"So guess."

"You have the key." He pointed out, "Did you take it or did she give it to you? Because if she gave it to you, she did not do it out of the kindness of her heart."

"Don't." She stopped him, "Just tell me what medicine."

"I was trying to save my life. I'm still wondering if I did." He says walking past her to the door

"Epinephrine drip, five milligrams." I told her and they both looked at me, "She won't wake up right away, but it'll ease her blood pressure so she'll have a shot." I said and she nodded her head at me, "Hey. Good luck." I say and she looked at me then walked out.

* * *

"Kate?" Beth's voice caught my attention as she stood in my door way. I turned to her, giving a little smile

"Hey, what's up?"

"I'm gonna help Carol." She says and by the look in her eyes I knew she needed my help. Beth was strong and smart, but we both knew, when it came to things these days, I was the more experienced one with dealing with the hard stuff. The world was starting to change me, I didn't like it but it was happening.

"So what do you need from me?" I asked with a small smile.

"Backup." She says and I sighed then nodded.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Where are those rotters you were shooting at?" One of the cops asked and Rick whistled at them while me and Merle walked up with our guns raised.

"Hands."

"What do you want?" The female asked

"Whatever this is, we can help." The other pointed out

"You do what we say, we don't hurt you." Rick tells them and they lower their weapons, "Good. Now turn around." Rick ordered, "Put your guns on the floor and kneel." They do so then Daryl and Sasha move over, Daryl takes their guns then Sasha hands him a zip tie, "We need to talk. There's water if you need some and food."

"Mind if I ask you something? The way you talk... the way you carry yourself... were you a cop?" The male cop asked Rick and I looked at him then back at the cop, "Believe it or not, I was, too."

"That's Lamson. He'll be down for this. He's one of the good ones." Noah tells both of us then suddenly a car approaches us and I fire my gun at it then Rick does, the car got closer and I moved out of the way then Tyresse shoots out the windows. The two that we had taken hopped in the back and we continued firing then they drive away, Sasha walked forward and hit the back tire then we ran after it

Rick stops us as we round the corner seeing what looked like melted walkers on the ground and the car was empty and we moved forward then see the two cops run, "Two, on me" Rick tells us and we run after them but I stopped and looked at the car that the cops got away in and I raised my gun up looking in it. I then made my way over to a burned downed camper and I kept my gun raised as I opened the door but saw nothing, then as I went to close it one of the cops tackled me to the ground and I kicked him backwards then got up. I went to punch him but he grabbed my arm and lifted me putting me on the ground near one of the melted walkers with his hands on my neck, I tried to push him off but he moved my head closer to the walker that was by me. I held my one hand to his neck as I used the other to reach for another walker and I almost got my fingers bitten off by it so I moved my hand, I tried again this time going for its eyes and stuck my fingers in then pulled the head off hitting him with it twice until he got off. He went to get up and come at me again but I heard a gun shot seeing the walker next to me get killed and I looked up and saw Merle standing in front of the guy pointing his metal hand with a blade at the cop.

"Easy does it sunshine." Merle tells him

"Okay, you win asshole." He says and slowly stood up but Merle kept his arm raised as I looked at my brother.

"Merle. Merle." I said but he continued to stare the guy down, "Merle, three is better then two." I point out and Merle lowered his arm.

* * *

We walked into the abandoned building we were hiding in with the three cops, "Your friend, what's his name? I need to talk to him. Your plan is going to get me and my friends killed." The female says

"We're gonna make it work." Sasha tells her

"It would work if you had different cops to trade. Dawn's running Grady into the ground. A bunch of us want her out and she knows it. Pretty sure she knows we want Lamson to replace her, too."

"Dawn doesn't know that." Lamson tells her

"She might. And she's smart. So there's a good chance you can't make this deal work and that'll leave us all dead. But if you let us go, we'll take care of Dawn ourselves and then we'll let your friends go and this is over."

"No, we're not gonna do that." The other male one says

"Do you want to die?" She asked him

"No. I just need you to shut up right now. You can make this work. But you've got to be able to talk to her."

"Noah told us all about her." Sasha tells him

"I've known her for eight years, ma'am. I know this woman. And my only interest is peaceful resolution, not dying, and sleeping in my bed tonight. So, please, let me help you. Please."

"Hey, Rick. You're gonna want to hear this." I call to him

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

I stood by Carol's bed when the door opened, I turned and saw Beth walk in and move over to the bed, "What do I do?" She asked me as I moved to the window to keep and eye out.

"Hang the bag on the pole and hook the end part up to the needle that's in her arm." I told her and watched her do it then looked back out the window.

"Now what?" She asked and I grabbed the drug bottle and a needle sticking it in then took some of the medicine out and made sure I had the right dosage.

"Put that in this spot here." I directed and we hear a door shut in the distance, I moved over to the window but didn't see anyone.

"Okay, done." She says and I moved to the other side of Carol and felt the pulse on her wrist.

"Steady heart rate. Shouldn't be long now." I mentioned then grabbed Carol's hand

"Carol. It's Beth." Beth said and held Carol's other hand, "I just wanted you to know I was here."

"We gotta go, I'll be here when they realize she's awake." I tell Beth and she nodded then we headed for the door, "Hey," I stopped her, "You did good." I mentioned and she nodded.

"Will you...will you tell Maggie.."

"Stop. You are gonna see her again ok? I promise." I tell her and she smiled then we opened the door, made sure the coast was clear then walked out separating.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"She'll tell you she won't make a deal. She'll tell you she won't compromise. But she will. She always does. Just- just know who you're talking to." Lamson says to Rick

"Probably heading out in the next 10 minutes or so. Anything you need before we leave?"

"Actually, water would be great."

"Will do. Thanks, Sergeant Lamson." Rick tells him

"My name's Bob." He tells him and I see Sasha look over

"You're still a cop." Rick pointed out

"No. No, the real ones are all gone."

* * *

"He wouldn't stop." Rick told us after he got back chasing after Lamson

"This change things?" I asked him

"It has to."

"Maybe not." I pointed out

"Well she said the plan won't work. The guy who did is dead." Merle mentioned, "Maybe we gotta rethink this."

"They also said the cop in charge didn't have any love for him. Maybe you did her a favor." I said to Rick

"I don't know if they'll play ball." Rick mentioned

"Let's find out." I said and we walk over to the others

"He was a good man. He was attacked by rotters. Saw it go down." The female cop told us and I looked at her

"Huh. You're a damn good liar." Rick told her

"We're hanging by a thread here. He was attacked by rotters. That's the story."

"You said the trade was a bad idea. What changed?" I asked her

"Lamson was our shot. So it's this or you go in guns blazing, right? You don't want that."

"If this is some bullshit you're spinning and things go south..." I started to say

"I know. I know the good ones from the bad. Let us help you."

"What about you? You wanna live? How much?" Rick asked the other one

"Dawn's afraid she'll look weak in front of us. Thinks it'll tip things against her. Hell, it will. She'll see this trade as a rip-off if she thinks you took out one of our guys. So it's a good thing Lamson got aced by rotters."

* * *

Me and Sasha looked down at the street from the roof we were on with the 2 cops while Rick was down below, I snapped my fingers and Tyresse grabbed the radio, "They're headed towards the vantage point."

 _"Okay. Copy that."_ He says

"We're gonna get her" Tyresse tells me and I nodded my head

* * *

The other 2 cops lead us to the hospital and unlock the doors for us and we head in moving up the stairs and through the halls until we get to a set of double doors

 _Holster your weapons._ the lady tells us over the radio and I put my gun away then we head inside, I see Kate standing there behind Carol who's in a wheelchair and Beth was next to her.

"They haven't been harmed." Rick told her

"Where's Lamson?"

"Rotters got him." The female we had told her

"We saw it go down." The other added

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. He was one of the good guys." She says "One of yours for one of mine."

"All right." Rick said nodding to me and I pushed the cop forward

"Move." I walked him forward and one of theirs wheeled Carol forward handing me her bag and I looked at Kate, she nodded and I took Carol back to the others then Rick moved forward with the female and walked back with Kate and Beth.

"Glad we could work things out." The lady tells Rick

"Yeah."

"Now I just need Noah. And then you can leave." She says and we look at her

"That wasn't part of the deal." Rick told her

"Noah was my ward. Beth took his place and I'm losing her, so I need him back."

"Ma'am, please, it's not..."

"Shepherd!" She says cutting the female we had off, "My officers put their lives on the line to find him. One of them died."

"No, he ain't staying." I told her moving forward keeping Kate behind me.

"He's one of mine. You have no claim on him."

"The boy wants to go home, so you have no claim on him." Rick says to her

"Well, then we don't have a deal."

"The deal is done." Rick said and Noah moved forwards

"It's okay."

"No. No." Rick tells him stopping him

"I got to do it." Noah tells him handing Rick his gun

"It's not okay." Beth says

"It's settled." The lady says and Noah moved forward

"Wait!" Beth says and walked over hugging him

"It's okay." Noah tells her

"I knew you'd be back." The lady tell him and Beth moved forward

"I get it now." She says and everything happened so fast, Beth stabbed her in the shoulder then I guess on instinct the lady shot Beth in the head. I heard Kate yell Beth's name behind me, I pulled out my gun shooting her and we all draw our weapons on each other.

"No! Hold your fire! It's over. It was just about her. Stand down." Shepard tells us and I feel Carol put her hand on my shoulder as I looked down at Beth and cried, "You can stay. We're surviving here. It's better than out there."

"No. And I'm taking anyone back there who wants to leave. If you want to come with us... just step forward now." Rick tells them but no one moved. I turned to Kate and pulled her towards me as she looked at Beth's body.

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

We all walked out of the hospital on after the other, Tyresse was first with Carol, then Sasha and Noah, me and Rick, I look and see the rest of our group walking towards us and I see Maggie then feel my heart break even more when Daryl walked out behind us carrying Beth. Maggie screamed and fell to the ground crying as Daryl continued walking, I started to cry too and Rick pulled me into a hug. Then we just stood there, mourning another lost member of our family.

 **A/N: Wow! it hasd been a long time since I've posted. I am so sorry I hope you forgive me :(**


	19. Chapter 19

**We are the Walking Dead**

We walked for days after the events that just happened, we lost Beth and then we lost Tyresse. Daryl was hurting and I could see it, he didn't talk to me or look at me, he wasn't mad at me or anything he just shut himself down. I was hurting too, I told Beth she was gonna Maggie again, I promised her. We were tired, hungry, only had a little bit of water left that we took it easy on. We had a long ways to go still, but we held on, we always will

* * *

"We're out, just like the other one." Abraham says as the last car we found sputtered then dies

"So we walk." Rick tells us and we get out continuing our journey. We look back and see a small herd of walkers way behind us, "We're not at our strongest. We'll get 'em when it's best." Rick says to Daryl as they walk in front of me and Merle with the others behind us, "High ground, something like that. They're not going anywhere. It's been three weeks since Atlanta. I know you lost something back there." He tells Daryl and I looked at Daryl but he continued looking forward and I gave a light sigh then Judith fusses.

"She's hungry."

"She's okay. She's going to be okay." Rick tells him

"We need to find water, food."

"We'll hit something in the road. It's gonna rain sooner or later." Rick points out

"I'm gonna head out. See what I can find." Daryl tells him and started to walk away

"Hey, don't be too long." Rick told him

"I'll go with you." Carol says walking towards him

"I got it."

"You gonna stop me?" She asked and they headed off and I reached my hands out for Judith so he didn't have to carry so much, he handed her to me.

"It's gonna be ok sweetie." I tell her and Rick gave me a small smile.

* * *

Daryl **POV...**

"Anything?" Carol asked me while we walked through tall grass

"No, it's too dry. There ain't nothing here."

"Maybe we should start back." She says

"You go."

"I think she saved my life. Her and Kate." Carol told me, "She saved your life, too, right?" She asked and handed me a knife, "It was hers. We're not dead. That's what you said. You're not dead. I know you. We're different. I can't let myself- But you... I know you. You have to let yourself feel it. You will." She said then kissed my head, "Just don't shut Kate out okay? She needs you, more then you know and you need her."

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

We stand at a small bridge getting ready for the walkers as they get closer, we didn't want to use to much of our strength so we just decided to let them fall down the hill, I pushed one down and slipped but Glenn caught me and I nodded my head at him when suddenly Sasha breaks away, "Stay in line." Rick told us grabbing his machete out and I grabbed my knife as she holds onto a walker then stabbed it, "Flank her. Keep it controlled." Rick says

"Plan just got dicked." Abraham pointed out as we continued to kill walkers, then as I turned around and killed one another one grabbed me then I feel it get pulled off and Daryl kills it, I catch my breath and look at him then looked over at Michonne and Sasha and followed them as they walk away.

* * *

"Dad, look." Carl says and we see a couple cars up ahead

"I'm gonna head into the woods, circle back." Daryl says

"May I come with?" I asked him

"No. No, just me." He says and walked away, I sighed and feel Michonne's hand on my shoulder but I moved away walking with the others as we search the cars but didn't really find anything.

* * *

We took a break sitting on the side of the road when we hear branches snap, I looked up grabbing my knife then saw Daryl walk out, I put my knife back and and leaned my head against the tree

"So all we found was booze?" Tara asked

"Yeah." Rosita answered and I see Abraham take a drink of whiskey then Merle held his hand out for the bottle which Abraham handed to him.

"It's not gonna help." Tara pointed out to her

"He knows that."

"It's gonna make it worse." She adds

"Yes, it is." I added

"He's a grown man. And I truly do not know if things can get worse." Eugene says

"They can." Rosita says

Just then we hear rustling and growling as 4 dogs walked out of the woods, I grabbed my knife staying in front of Carl who had Judith as they stood there growling at us then I hear silenced gunshots as Sasha shoots them. Then we sat there and cooked them, it felt wrong but we needed it, I sat there looking at the flames when Carol came over and handed me a bottle of water.

"Give it to Daryl" I tell her looking back at the fire

"He told me to come give it to you" She says and I look at her then glance at Daryl who looked away, I grabbed it taking a small sip then handed it to her, "It's gonna be ok" She tells me and I just looked forward.

* * *

As we continued walking I hear rustling behind me and I looked to see Daryl walking away, I looked at Merle and he held up his hand telling me he went looking for water, I nodded my head then looked back forward, all I can really do is let him heal.

We stopped walking when we saw a bunch of bottles of water sitting in the road, Daryl came back and Rick handed him the note, from a friend, it said.

"What else are we gonna do?" Tara asked

"Not this. We don't know who left it." Rick tells her

"True but what other choice do we have Rick? We can't find anyhting and Judith needs it to stay cool." I said to him and he looked at me.

"If that's a trap, we already happen to be in it. But I, for one, would like to think it is indeed from a friend." Eugene says

"What if it isn't? They put something in it?" Carol asked and Eugen bent down grabbing one

"Eugene." Rosita says

"What are you doing, dude?" Tara asked him

"Quality assurance." He says and before he could take a drink Abraham smacked it out of his hand

"We can't." Rick tells him then we hear thunder and shortly after it rains, I look up and smile with joy because man it feels good, I look over at Daryl, Maggie then Sasha as they just stand there, "Everybody get the bags. Anything you can find." Rick tells us and I reached into mine grabbing out my water bottle then walked over to Daryl reaching my hand out for his and he handed it to me then I grabbed the baby bottle for Judith and I turned away filling them up as the rains increased, "Let's keep moving." Rick says and I moved over to Carl who was holding his hat above Judith and I took my top shirt off putting it on her to keep her covered as she cried.

"There's a barn." Daryl told him

"Where?"

* * *

`1azqWe follow Daryl through the woods coming up on the barn, Rick opened the door and we walked inside looking around while the others waited then we let them in.

That night as we waited out the storm I sat away from everyone playing with some hay when Daryl sits down next to me, I looked at him then back at what I was doing. He grabbed my hand and I looked at him again, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked him

"I shut down, shut you out"

I took my hand and held his, "Don't be sorry, you needed the time so I gave it to you."

He put his hand on mine, "How can you be so strong?"

"I have you. Rick, Carl, Judith, hell even Merle." I tell him and he chuckled then kissed me, "I love you. For better or worse, remember that" I tell him and he nodded, I smiled as we hugged, he wasn't fully there, but it was progress. He pulled away and I held his hand then noticed a burn mark, "What's this?"

"I needed to feel" He said and I fought back tears as I lifted his hand up and kissed the burn

"Did you feel that?" I asked him

"I always feel you, even when I'm not with you." He tells me and I smile, "I mean it, I don't ever wanna go through the pain of losing you. I love you more then you know and you filled every empty part of my heart with the love you have for me."

"Such a softy" I said with a smirk and he chuckled

"I mean every word, I'm gonna show you each day how much you mean to me."

"Just you being here with me is enough, all I need is you, it's all I've ever needed" I tell him and he hugged me kissing my head.

"You're to perfect for me"

"Oh hush" I giggled

We moved over to the others and Daryl tried to keep the fire we started going but he sat back down wrapping his arm around my shoulder and I leaned my head on his shoulder, "I'll try." Glenn told him

"No, too wet."

"He's gonna be okay." Carol tells Rick as I see him look at Carl who's asleep next to Rick cuddling with Judith, what I wouldn't give for a camera right now, "He bounces back more than any of us do."

"I used to feel sorry for kids that have to grow up now. In this. But I think I got it wrong. Growing up is getting used to the world. This is easier for them."

"This isn't the world. This isn't it." Michonne told him

"It might be. It might." Glenn tells her

"That's giving up."

"It's reality. Until we see otherwise, this is what we have to live with. When me and Kate were kids... I asked my grandpa once if he ever killed any Germans in the war. He wouldn't answer. He said that was grown-up stuff, so... so I asked if the Germans ever tried to kill him. But he got real quiet. He said he was dead the minute he stepped into enemy territory. Every day he woke up and told himself, "Rest in peace. Now get up and go to war." And then after a few years of pretending he was dead... he made it out alive. That's the trick of it, I think. We do what we need to do and then we get to live. But no matter what we find in DC, I know we'll be okay. Because this is how we survive. We tell ourselves... that we are the walking dead."

"We ain't them." Daryl says after a moment then got up again trying the twigs again

"We're not them" Rick says to him, "Hey. We're not"

Daryl stood up, "We ain't them" He says and reached his hand down to me, I grabbed it standing up too, he grabbed his crossbow and we walked over to a horse stall and we sat down, "You should sleep" He tells me.

"So should you." I tell him and he set his crossbow down then laid down with me and I eventually fall asleep.

I got woken up by a loud thunder crack and noticed Daryl wasn't next to me, I got up and walked out of the stable and saw him bracing himself against the door, I ran over and leaned on it too hearing walkers then everyone else came over to help as the storm and wind increased, I looked at Daryl then kept pushing on it.

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

I sat next to the hay bail and watched Kate lay with Judith in her arms and Carl next to her and Merle sitting not to far away. I loved how much she loved those two, she would do anything for them. As for Merle, what happened after the prison and him keeping her safe made me respect him, he really has changed a lot, and he is protective over Kate like she's family, hell she is his family. I was lost in thought when Maggie came over and sat next to me, "You should get some sleep." She told me

"Yeah."

"It's okay to rest now." She says and I looked over at Sasha

"He was tough." I told Maggie

"He was."

"So was she." I said talking about Beth, "She didn't know it, but she was." I reassured her and she smiled at me then looked away, I grabbed the music box and handed it to her, "The gearbox had some grit in it."

"Thank you." She said and got up walking over to Sasha

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

The next morning after we all woke up I sat on the floor by Rick playing with Judith while Daryl fussed with his crossbow, "Hey." Maggie called from outside the door slowly pushing it open and I see her and Sasha walk in with a random guy, "Everyone... This is Aaron." She says and I continue to hold Judith as everyone raised their guns at him, "We met him outside. He's by himself. We took his weapons and we took his gear." She says and Daryl moved to the door looking outside then patted Aaron down

"Hi." Aaron says to us and Judith cries, I handed her to Carl then stood in front of him pulling out my gun, "It's nice to meet you." Aaron says moving forward but I moved up still pointing my gun and he stopped.

"You said he had a weapon?" Rick asked Maggie and she walked over handing Rick the gun, a small gun, Rick tucked it in his pants, "There something you need?" He asked Aaron

"He has a camp, nearby. He wants us to audition for membership." Sasha says

"I wish there was another word. Audition makes it sound like we're some kind of a dance troupe. That's only on Friday nights." He joked but we all looked at him, "Um, and it's not a camp. It's a community. I think you all would make valuable additions. But it's not my call. My job is to convince you all to follow me back home. I know. If I were you, I wouldn't go either. Not until I knew exactly what I was getting into. Sasha, can you hand Rick my pack?" He asked her and she brings it over to him, "Front pocket, there's an envelope. There's no way I could convince you to come with me just by talking about our community. That's why I brought those. I apologize in advance for the picture quality. We just found an old camera store last..."

"Nobody gives a shit." Merle tells him and I looked at him

"You're absolutely 100% right. That's the first picture I wanted to show you because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you'll be safe. If you join us, you will be. Each panel in that wall is a 15-foot-high, 12-foot-wide slab of solid steel framed by cold-rolled steel beams and square tubing. Nothing alive or dead gets through that without our say-so." He informed us and Rick handed me the pictures, I looked at them and to be honest it sounded to good to be true, "Like I said, security is obviously important. In fact, there's only one resource more critical to our community's survival. The people. Together we're strong. You can make us even stronger. The next picture, you'll see inside the gates. Our community was first construc..." He got cut off when Rick walked up to him punching him in the face knocking Aaron out

* * *

"So we're clear, that look wasn't a "let's attack that man" look. It was a "he seems like an okay guy to me" look." Michonne says to Rick

"We got to secure him. Dump his pack. Let's see what this guy really is." He told us

"Rick." I said

"Everybody else, we need eyes in every direction. They're coming for us. We might not know how or when, but they are." Rick told us and I looked at him

"Me and Sasha, we didn't see him. If he had wanted to hurt us, he could've." Maggie says

"Anybody see anything?" Rick asked us ignoring her

"Just a lot of places to hide." Glenn says

"All right, keep looking." He tells eveyone and walked over to me while I looked through Aaron's bag, "What did you find?" He asked me and I handed him the flare gun, he nodded then walked back over to Aaron as he regained consciousness

"That's a hell of a right cross there, Rick."

"Sit him up." Rick says to Maggie

"I think it's better if..."

"It's okay." Aaron tells her

"He's fine. Sit him up." Rick said again and Michonne sat him up

"You're being cautious. I completely understand." Aaron tells him

"How many of your people are out there? You have a flare gun. You have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?"

"Does it matter?" Aaron asked him

"Yes. Yes, it does."

"I mean, of course, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say... eight, 32, 444, zero... No matter what I say, you're not going to trust me." Aaron says

"Well, it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face." I tell him

"How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?"

"How long you people been following us?" Daryl asked him moving up next to me

"Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail. Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other. You're survivors and you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world."

"How many others are out there?" Rick asked him again

"One." Aaron tells him and Rick lightly shook his head, "I knew you wouldn't believe me. If it's not words, if it's not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real? What if I drove you to the community? All of you. We leave now, we'll get there by lunch."

"I'm not sure how the 17 of us are going to fit in the car you and your one friend drove down here in." Rick mentioned to him

"We drove separately. If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home. There's enough room for all of us."

"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" I asked him

"East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16. We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road. We couldn't clear it."

"Yeah, you've really thought this through." Rick told him

"Rick, if I wanted to ambush you, I'd do it here. You know, light the barn on fire while you slept, pick you off as you ran out the only exit. You can trust me."

"I'll check out the cars." Michonne told Rick

"There aren't any cars."

"There's only one way to find out." She adds

"We don't need to find out."

"We do. You know what you know and you're sure of it, but I'm not." She pointed out

"Me neither" Maggie added

"Same here." I said

"Your way is dangerous, mine isn't." Rick told Michonne

"Passing up someplace where we can live? Where Judith can live? That's pretty dangerous. We need to find out what this is. We can handle ourselves. So that's what we're gonna do." I tell him

"Then I will, too." Glenn agreed

"Abraham." Rick calls to him

"Yeah. I'll walk with them."

"Rosita?" He asked

"Okay."

"Merle?" Rick asked him

"I'm in."

"If there's trouble, you got enough firepower?" Rick asked Glenn

"We got what we got."

"The walkies are out of juice. If you're not back in 60 minutes, we'll come." Rick told us as we start to head out, "Which might be just what they want." Rick says, "If we're all in here, we're a target."

"We've got the area covered." Daryl tells him

"All right, groups of two, find somewhere safe within eye-shot."

"You got her?" I asked Rick handing Judith to him

"Yeah, I got her." He says and I walked out

* * *

"This, this is ours now." Rick says to Aaron as we look at the food

"There's more than enough."

"It's ours whether or not we go to your camp." Rick pointed out

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we go?" Carl asked him

"If he were lying or if he wanted to hurt us... but he isn't, and he doesn't. We need this. So we're going, all of us. Somebody say something if they feel differently." Michonne defended and I looked at Daryl.

"I don't know, man. This barn smells like horse shit." Daryl says and I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. We're going." Rick finally said and I smiled at him, "So where are we going? Where's your camp?" Rick asked Aaron

"Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back. I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet."

"You're not driving. So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how." Michonne tells him

"Go north on Route 16."

"And then?" She asked

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"We'll take 23 north. You'll give us directions from there." Rick told him

"That's... I don't know how else to say it... That's a bad idea. We've cleared 16. It'll be faster."

"We'll take 23. We leave at sundown." Rick persisted

"We're doing this at night?" Sasha asked him

"Look, I know it's dangerous. But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."

"No one is going to hurt you. You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger." Aaron says to Rick

"Tell me where the camp is, we'll leave right now." Rick tells him but Aaron stayed quiet, "It's going to be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can" Rick said to us and I nudged Daryl to follow me and we walked outside

"What are your thoughts on this?" I asked him

"I don't know. Sounds to good to be true" He says and I nodded then looked down but he lifted my chin so I would look at him, "But if it's a chance for us to survive, and I would know you're safe with a roof over your head, Carl and Judith's heads, then I'll do what it takes."

I smiled at him then kissed him, "I need you safe too Mr. Dixon" I tell him and he kissed me again.

"Alright enough with the lovey dovey crap or I'll puke." I heard Merle say and I sighed then looked to see him walk outside.

* * *

That night I sat in the RV as we followed the others, I was in the back sitting on the bed lost in thought when I feel the RV slow down, "Shit!" I heard Abraham say from up front and I went up there.

"What is it?" I asked but then I saw a bunch of walkers in the road and blood

"It looks like they drove right through it" Maggie says

"We can't stay here though, we need to double back" I point out

"And where do you suggest we go?" Abraham asked me

"I have an idea"

* * *

Me and Daryl stood outside a building we found after shooting the flare and finding the person Aaron was with, "They should have been here by now" I pointed out and Daryl grabbed my hand

"They will be" He says and I smiled at him, "In the meantime, wanna screw around?" He asked and I saw the smirk on his face.

"You think you're funny?" I asked with a smile and he kissed my cheek

"Isn't that why you married me?"

"I married you because I love you, not your poor attempts at jokes" I tell him and he lightly shoved me then we hear footsteps approaching then a whistle, we look and saw Rick walking over with the others and I ran up to him giving him a hug as Daryl whistled then Carl came running over.

"Dad!" Carl yelled hugging him

"Is your sister ok?" Rick asked him

"Yeah"

"Eric? Eric?" Aaron asked then headed inside

"See you got my message" I told Rick and he put his hand on my shoulder, "I knew it was risky but..."

"You acted on instinct. Thank you" He says and I nodded then we all headed back inside

* * *

"Excuse me. Excuse me. Everyone." Aaron says to us walking out of the room his friend was in, "Thank you. You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do any more driving tonight." He said we all gave a light chuckle, "Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."

"That sounds fine. But if we're staying here for the night, you're sleeping over there." Rick told him

"You really think we got to do that?" I asked Rick

"It's the safe play. We don't know you." Rick told Aaron

"The only way you're gonna stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me." Aaron says and Rick stayed quiet then Aaron moved forward but Glenn stopped him

"Whoa. Rick, he told us where the camp is. And he really was only traveling with one other person. They're both unarmed. One of them's got a broken ankle. I want us to be safe, too. I can't give up everything else. I know what I said, but it does matter." Glenn told Rick who hesitated

"All right."

* * *

 **Daryl POV...**

"Seven-card stud. Stares and squares. It's aces, cuatros, neeners, and two-eyed jacks." Eugene says to Kate, Tara and Glenn as we sat in the RV the next day.

"So there's 14 wild cards? Are you serious?" Tara asked him

"Serious as two copulating dogs."

"Ok completely inappropriate" Kate laughed and I looked over at her, it sure was nice to see her smile again. She looked over at me and gave me a wink and I smiled at her. This place better work, she needs it, they all need it. I want her to have a place to call home.

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

"Can't win." Abraham says hitting the hod of the RV, "Might as well paint it red, put a ladder on it."

"All we need is another battery." Glenn told him

"Where in the hell are we gonna find another battery?"

"Right over here." Glenn says and they walked over to the side of the RV, Glenn lifted a small door inside by the steps

"How'd you know those were there?" Abraham asked him and me and Glenn looked at each other, I feel my heart twist in pain but I smiled

"An old friend" I tell him and Glenn gave my hand a squeeze then they finished fixing it up then it started, we all cheered and I see Rick walk into the woods. I thought about going after him but then Daryl came down from the RV and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed my cheek, I turned and smiled at him kissing him on the lips then Rick came back and we took off.

We pull up to a set of gates and I looked out the front, then we all got out walking towards them and I hear children laughing behind them, Daryl grabbed my hand and I looked at him. This was the start of something, for all of us, I could feel it. Rick pulled Judith out from the back seat of the car and I walked over to him

"This'll work, it has to." I said to him and he nodded then I kissed Judith's head and we walked up to the others.


	20. Chapter 20

**We are the Walking Dead**

As we walked up to the gates of Alexandria they opened a little and Aaron walked up with Eric helping him inside then stood there with us, we hear something rattle from next to us and Daryl let go of my hand and quickly shot it as the gates opened the rest of the way. He picked up the possum as we looked at another guy standing there, "We brought dinner." He tells him and I lightly chuckled

"It's okay." Aaron told the guy who just looked at us, "Come on in, guys." He says to us and we all walked in then the gates closed

"Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons." The guy told us, "To stay, you hand them over."

"We don't know if we want to stay." Rick told him

"It's fine, Nicholas." Aaron said to him

"If we were gonna use them, we would have started already." Rick pointed out

"Let them talk to Deanna first." Aaron said to Nicholas

"Who's Deanna?" Abraham asked him

"She knows everything you'd want to know about this place. Rick, why don't you start?" Aaron says and Rick turned to face us

"Sasha." He told her and she looked out the gate as a walker was coming towards us and she shoots it, "It's a good thing we're here." Rick pointed out and we started walking

* * *

We stood outside the house Aaron walked us to and brought Rick inside, I stood there looking around the place. Houses, actual houses, it really did seem to good to be true. After a while Rick finally came out and Deanna wanted to talk to me, I looked at Daryl then headed inside.

"Hello Kate, I'm Deanna Monroe. Please have a seat." She told me and I looked around at the house then sat in a chair across from her, "Do you mind if I film this?"

"Sure, why not."

"Rick told me you all have been out there since the beginning. Who were you before all this?" She asked me

"Doesn't matter anymore."

"The world may have gone down the drain but who we were before still defines who we are now. So Kate, who were you before all this?" She asked and I sighed

"I was in the army."

"Army. Really? For how long?" She asked

"A year until I was discharged."

"Discharged for what?" She asks

"No offense but I really don't want to get into that right now."

"Understandable. Did you know each other before or-?" She asked

"Rick's my brother. I met Glenn, Carol and Daryl after the start when we had another group. The others we met along the way." I told her, "What is this place?" I asked her

"This was a planned community with its own solar grid, cisterns, eco-based sewage filtration. Starting in the low 800,000s if there is such a thing. And they sold them all."

"What brought you here?" I asked

"Well like I told Rick, my family and I were trying to get back to Ohio so I could help my district manage the crisis. And the army stopped us on a back road and directed us here. They were supposed to come later. They didn't. But there were supplies here and we made the best of it."

"So then you put up the wall?" I ask

"Well, there was this huge shopping mall being built nearby. And my husband Reg is a professor of architecture. And who he was mattered quite a bit. He got the first plates up with our sons. And after a few weeks, more people arrived and we had help. We had a community." She told me and I nodded, "Do you want to be here Kate?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I guess, I mean we've been out there for so long and...well to finally have a place, a place where my niece and nephew can be safe. It's nice I suppose."

"And your husband?" She asked me and I looked at her confused, "Your ring" She indicated and I looked at it, "Which one is he?"

"Daryl, the guy holding the possum" I told her and she gave a light chuckle

"So you knew him after the start, how long after did you two get married?" She asked me and I had to think, how long has it been?

"I honestly don't even know what month it is" I pointed out

"It's June 18th"

I chuckled, "We were together for 5 or so months, married for a 1 year now."

"It so great to find someone in this world now" She says and I nodded, "Thank you Kate" She says and I walked out of the house up to Daryl and kissed him

"Happy 1 year" I told him and he looked at me confused, "She told me it's May 18th, we've been married 1 year" I said and he nodded his head then he got called into the house, "Play nice" I say and he nodded then headed inside.

 **Daryl POV...**

I walked around the chair it front of Deanna then walked over to a bowl full of rocks and picked at them while still holding the possum, "You're welcome to sit, Daryl. I won't bite." She told me

"Yeah, I'm all right."

"Daryl, do you want to be here?" She asked me

"The boy and the baby, my wife, they deserve a roof. I guess."

"I believe that both you and your wife deserve this" She told me and I nodded

* * *

 **Kate POV...**

"They're still your guns. You can check them out whenever you go beyond the wall. But inside here, we store them for safety." Deanna told us as we all put our guns on the cart. I reluctantly put mine on there looking at Rick as Merle took the make shift knife off his metal arm. Carol walked over and struggled to get the gun over her shoulders off due to her bad shoulder, Merle walked over and helped her then she set it in on the cart then the lady, Olivia, pulled the cart away.

"Should have brought another bin." She says and I gave a small smile

* * *

I stood in the bedroom of one of the houses they gave us and I walked over to the closet looking at the clothes in there, most of them were my kind of clothes and some, well not. I grabbed one that would fit me most then headed into the bathroom, I turned on the shower and felt something I didn't feel for a long time, hot water. I got in and once the water hit my skin I didn't want to get out. I washed and scrubbed getting all the dirt off me then grabbed a razor and shaved my legs and under my arms. After I was done I got out then got dressed looking at myself in the mirror and grabbed a tooth brush, I felt like someone needed to pinch me.

I headed downstairs and saw Rick out on the porch holding Judith and followed Carl out, "You can look. Just be quick" Rick told Carl and I looked at him in shock as Carl and Carol walked away and went to the other house then Rick looked at me, "What?"

"I almost forgot what your face looked like" I said with a smile and he chuckled

"Shut up"

I walked over to Daryl who was sitting on the steps skinning the possum, I put my hand on his shoulder and he looked at me, "You clean up nice"

"You should give it a shot" I tell him and he grumbled, I shook my head then walked away to look at the rest of this place.

* * *

"How long was I in there for?" Michonne asked walking into the living room of the one house where we were gonna all sleep tonight

"20 minutes." Rick told her

"God, I could not stop brushing."

"I know how you feel" I told her and she smiled then looked at Rick

"Huh. I've never- I've never seen your face like that."

"That's what I felt before and after." He says and I sit down in between Daryl's legs on the window bed and he wrapped his arms around me as Merle walked over by the other window, they were both still dirty.

There was a knock at the door and Rick answered it, "Rick, I- Wow. I didn't know what was under there." Deanna says and I chuckled, "Listen, I don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were all settling." She says walking in and looked around at all of us, "Oh, my. Staying together. Smart."

"No one said we couldn't." Rick told her

"You said you're a family. That's what you said. Absolutely amazing to me how people with completely different backgrounds and nothing in common can become that. Don't you think?"

"Everybody said you gave them jobs." Rick mentioned and I looked at them confused, I didn't get one.

"Mm-hmm. Yeah. Part of this place. Looks like the communists won after all."

"Well, you didn't give me one." Rick pointed out

"I have. I just haven't told you yet. Same with Michonne. I'm closing in on something for Sasha. And I'm just trying to figure Mr. Dixon out, but I will."

"Good luck trying" I said to her and Daryl scoffed behind me, I looked at him and smiled then looked back at Deanna.

"As for you and Merle there's been something found for you both." Deanna told us looking at me and I looked at Merle, "You look good." She tells Rick and left

* * *

I walked out on the porch seeing Daryl sitting there fussing with his crossbow, I walked over to him and handed him some water, "Thanks" He said still looking at the crossbow so I set it on the railing behind him

"I'm starting to think you love that thing more then me"

He looked up at me, "Stop. You know I won't ever love anything more then you"

"Oh I don't know, you might find a pretty girl here who will catch your eye and you'll get bored with me" I said jokingly and he pulled me to him

"Only one girl has ever caught my eye, and I married her" He says and I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Time to punch the clock and make the casseroles." We hear Carol say and we broke apart then looked at her. I look at her in shock

"What?" Daryl asked her

"Make dinner for the older people-moms who need a break, people who can't cook. Get to meet a lot of the neighbors that way."

"All right." He scoffed

"Have you taken a shower yet?" She asked him

"Mm-hmm." He says and I shook my head no at her

"Take a shower. I'm gonna wash that vest. We need to keep up appearances, even you and Merle." She told him walking down the stairs

"Hey, I ain't starting now."

"I'm gonna hose you down in your sleep." She says starting to walk away

"You look ridiculous." He told her and I smacked his arm as Merle walked over.

"Well ain't these people living the good life." He says and I looked around

"Look, I know this is hard for both of you, I get it. Can we at least try to make the best of this?" I asked them looking at Merle then Daryl, "Please?" I asked and Daryl hesitated then nodded and I looked back at Merle.

"Yeah, why not? Better then out there right?"

"Good. We should go though. Deanna wants to talk to us." I said to Merle and gave Daryl another kiss then walked down the stairs.

* * *

"Kate, Merle, thank you for coming." Deanna says to us as we walked through the front door of her house, "I suppose you're both curious as to why I asked you both here."

"You said you had jobs for us." Merle said

"I do. You both were in the military, both know the difference between good people and bad people. I've already planned to have Rick be our constable around here but I'd like you two to be one of our scavenging teams." She tells us and we share a look then I looked at her again, "I know it seems a little odd to have two former military people doing runs but from what I learned about you Merle is that you don't wanna be cooped up behind these walls." She tells him and looked at me, "And you Kate, you know what it takes to survive, you know how to read people. I would like to ask you to help me make this place grow Kate, work along side me and Maggie to build our community." She tells me and I looked at her, "As for you Merle I would like to have you assist Abraham and the others who are on our work crew to expand the walls around this place."

"I'm not sure how much help a one armed man can be."

"Merle." I said to him and he looked at me

"I'm just saying."

"Everyone has their own strength's Merle, I believe you will have yours there." Deanna told him and looked at us, "Interested?"

* * *

"You obey my orders out there." I hear someone tell Glenn as me and Merle walked over

"Then we're just as screwed as your last run crew."

"Say that again." The guy told him

"No, back off, Aiden." Tara says to him and he pushed Glenn

"Come on. Come on, man. Just take a step back." Noah told Aiden

"Come on, tough guy."

"No one's impressed, man. Walk away." Glenn warned him

"Aiden! What is going on?" Deanna asked walking over

"This guy's got a problem with the way we do things." He says then looked at her, "Why did you let these people in?"

"Because we actually know what we're doing out there." Glenn told him and he swung around attempting to hit Glenn who ducked then punched him

"Aiden, no! That's enough!" Deanna yelled at him and I see Nicholas try to run over but Daryl tackled him to the ground

"Daryl!" I yelled as Rick and Carl came running in from outside the gate

"I said that is enough!" Deanna yelled again as Rick and Merle went over to Daryl

"Easy little brother."

"Whoa, whoa! Hey, hey, hey! Let's not do this now." Rick says to him and Michonne stepped in front of Aiden who was gonna go for Glenn again

"You want to end up on your ass again?" She asked him and Rick pulled Daryl off moving him back I put my hand on his arm

"Daryl, calm down" I tell him as he paced but Rick kept blocking him, "Daryl." I said one more time and stepped in front of him, he stopped pacing and looked at me, I knew he would never hurt me, he nodded his head and I grabbed his hand

"I want everyone to hear me, okay? Rick and his people are part of this community now in all ways as equals. Understood?" Deanna shouted then looked at Aiden

"Understood."

"All of you, turn in your weapons. Then you two come talk to me." She told Aiden and Nicholas then looked at Rick, "I told you I had a job for you. I'd like you to be our constable. That's what you were. That's what you are. And you too." She says to Michonne, "Will you accept?" She asked

"Okay." Rick says

"Yeah, I'm in." Michonne agreed, Daryl scoffed then walked away and I followed him

* * *

"Hey" I said to Daryl walking out onto the porch where he was smoking

"Hi" I leaned on the railing next to him, "I'm sorry"

"Don't be, you were helping Glenn" I told him and he grabbed my hand then kissed it as Rick walked out wearing a uniform

"We good?" Rick asked him

"Yeah."

"You a cop again?" I asked Rick as Carol and Merle walked out

"I'm trying it on for size."

"So we're staying?" She asked him

"I think we can start sleeping in our own homes. Settle in."

"If we get comfortable here, we let our guard down- this place is gonna make us weak." Merle pointed out

"Carl said that. But it's not gonna happen. We won't get weak. That's not in us anymore. We'll make it work. And if they can't make it... then we'll just take this place."

* * *

The next morning everyone was already up and headed out of the house, I saw Daryl sitting on the porch railing again and I walked up to him, "Day 3" I said and he looked at me confused, "It's been two days and you haven't taken advantage of the warm water" I smirked and he scoffed, I wrapped my arms around his neck and he put his hands on my waist, "What if I made it worth your while?" I asked him and he looked at me, I kissed him then as I pulled away I bit his bottom lip. That got him moving because he grabbed my hand and we headed inside and up to the bathroom.

After he got undressed I followed then barely had any reaction time because he pulled me into the shower and started to kiss me, I put my hand on his chest and moved him under the water and ran my fingers through his hair then the dirt washed off his face and body, "There you are" I told him and he put his hands on my face pulling me under the water and began to kiss me again then turned me around so my back was against the shower wall, that's the one thing I like about showers that don't double as a tub, there's more room. He lifted my legs up and I wrapped them around his waist as he kissed my neck, I laid my head back giving him more access. Then he set my one leg down and moved my other one over his arm then pushed into me, I laid my head back again as he continued to pump into me and I bit my lip, his other hand reached up and his fingers went into my hair and his mouth back on my neck, "Oh god Daryl" I moaned and he moved faster and harder, I was filled with so much pleasure right now that I didn't notice he put my leg down then turned me around lifting my leg up onto the small bench that was in the shower bending me slightly and re-entered me holding one hand on my hip and the other gripped my other hand and he pounded into me, "Oh fuck" I moaned and his grip tightened on my hip

"Oh Kate" He moaned and took his hand away from mine moving it to my front squeezing my breast then moved his hand down and started to rub my nub, I jerked but his hand held me there as he continued to rub it

"Daryl!" I moaned and he moved faster, "Ohhh!" I moaned again and finally let go then after a few more grunts and pushes Daryl finished as well. He grabbed my hips and helped me stand and I face him, "You are gonna be the death of me Mr. Dixon" I tell him wrapping my arms around his neck and he kissed me

"I have a sexy wife, I can't help it"

"Well I have a husband who is sexy as hell and I can't seem to keep my hands off him." I tell him and he kissed me then pushed me against the shower wall again, "And as much as I would love another round with you we have to go meet Rick."

"Mood killer" He says in my ear and lightly bit it causing me to lightly moan.

"Later tonight, you, me and the bedroom I picked out for us"

"Deal" He said and we finally got out and dressed then headed to the woods to meet with Rick, Merle and Carol.

* * *

"I don't see it, but it's close. There's just one of 'em." Daryl told us as we stand by a house outside of the walls hearing a walker.

"We won't be here long. So what do you think?" Rick asked

"We can go in when it's empty." Carol told him talking about the weapons storage

"How is that? It's locked up at night." I told her

"The window. There's just a latch. I can leave it open."

"A latch?" Rick asked

"Yeah."

"What if one of those pricks shuts it?" Merle asked her

"Wait a couple of days, leave it open again."

We hear the walker snarl, "It's getting closer." Daryl pointed out

"We need to do it sooner than later. Right now, they're not watching us. Not worrying about meetings like this. We may need the guns, we may not." Rick says

"We will whatever way it goes." Carol told him

"They're the luckiest damn people I ever met. And they just keep getting luckier."

"How's that?" Daryl asked him

"We're here now."

"They've got a couple of footlockers just full of 9 millimeter autos, Rugers, Kel-Tecs. Just tossed in there. They don't use them. They're never gonna know they're gone." Carol added

"Someone's got one now, right?" Daryl asked indicating to the old blender Rick hid a gun in

"Mmm. Listen, the others, we want them to try." Rick tells us

"You, too." Carol said to Daryl

"So we keep it quiet. Just us." Rick mentioned

"Here it comes." Daryl indicated to the walker, "I got him."

"Hey, wait." Carol says and walked over with a gun and shot at it hitting everywhere but the head then finally killed it, "We said we were taking me out shooting. I couldn't go back with a full mag." She pointed out

"Lucky he came by." Daryl says

"We should get back. You'll pull the latch, we'll pick our moment. Us, we don't need to be lucky." Rick tells Carol as we walk past the dead walker and Merle stopped

"What the hell's that? Is that a W?" He asked and we looked at the walkers forehead seeing a W carved into it

* * *

"I'll be back later, gonna hunt" Daryl told me as Rick, Merle and Carol walked ahead

"Want company?" I asked him running my hand up his chest and he grabbed it

"If you came with I wouldn't get much hunting done."

"You say that like I'm a distraction" I tell me with a smirk

"You are, especially when you wear stuff like this" He indicated to my low cut shirt, "No one else better look at you like that, I'll take their eyes"

"Mmm my jealous husband" I said wrapping my arms around his neck and he put his hands on my waist

"You're my girl, and only mine."

I kissed him and he pushed his tongue into my mouth, I quietly moaned then pulled away, "Talk about distractions" I said and he kissed me again

"I love you"

"I love you too." I tell him and headed back to the gates.

* * *

Later on that day Daryl got back and I saw Aaron with him, "Not going to the party?" Daryl asked me and I shook my head

"Not really feeling into it, I know we're suppose to try but social gatherings have never been my thing." I told him and he reached out his hand to me

"Where's Merle?"

"Oh he actually went, but only cause there was free booze." I told him and he scoffed

"We'll go for a walk then" He says and I smiled at him then we headed down the street

"Daryl, Kate. Hey." We hear Aaron say to us from his porch,

"Thought you were going to that party over there." Daryl mentioned to him

"Oh, I was never going to go 'cause of Eric's ankle, thank God."

"Why the hell did you tell me to go, then?" Daryl asked him

"I said try. You did. For her." Aaron indicated to me and I smiled at him then Daryl, "It's a thought that counts thing."

"All right."

"Hey, come in. Have some dinner. Come on, it's some pretty serious spaghetti." Aaron told us and I looked at Daryl

"What could it hurt" I told him and he nodded then we headed in

* * *

"Thanks." Daryl tells Aaron and Eric after he slurped some spaghetti.

"Daryl" I whispered to him and he looked at me and I smiled shaking my head

"Mmm, when you're out there, if you happen to be in a store or something, Mrs. Neudermyer is really looking for a pasta maker." Eric says to Daryl, "And we're all really trying to get her to shut up about it. I mean, we have crates of dried pasta in here, but she wants to make her own or something. I really think she just wants something to talk about, so... if you see one out on your travels, it would go a long way to..." He stopped and I looked at him confused as he looked at Aaron, "I thought it was done. You didn't ask him already?"

"Ask me what?" Daryl asked the Aaron gestured for Daryl to follow him, I looked at Daryl and they walked out.

"More wine?" Eric asked me and I nodded then he poured more into my glass, "So you two were married after all this?" Eric asked me and I smiled

"Yeah, well we knew each other after we all met up with some other people we stayed at a quarry with back in Atlanta, Daryl really only talked to me which I thought was weird at first but it gave me a chance to know the real him. We just kept getting closer after that."

"From the sounds of it you two have been through a lot together."

"We have. A lot of loss." I said and looked down

"Who did you lose?"

"Rick's wife, my sister-in-law. She died giving birth to my niece, who I delivered." I tell him and he holds my hand

"I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, I made her a promise that I would keep Judith safe and that's exactly what I'm gonna do." I said

"So then the other guy who hangs around you and Daryl a lot he's.."

"Daryl's brother, Merle. Kind of a hard head but he's gotten better then he was before." I tell him

"So I um..." He says sitting back in his chair, "Aaron has a job for Daryl." He said and I looked at him, "Aaron doesn't want me out there anymore so he was considering asking Daryl to help him recruit." He says and I was about to say something when Daryl and Aaron walked in

"Ready?" Daryl asked me and I nodded my head

"Thank you both for dinner, and the talk" I said looking at Eric who smiled and we walked out the door.

* * *

"You okay with it?" Daryl asked me as we get ready for bed

I sighed and walked over to him, "Not really, I mean you could be gone for days or weeks and I wouldn't know if anything happened to you, but I know how hard it is for you being in here and I don't want you feeling trapped. I want you to be happy and if that means going outside the walls to find people then, then I want that for you" I told him and he pulled me to him

"Thank you" He says and I kissed him

"Besides, Deanna offered me a job." I said to him

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"She wants me to work along side her to help build this place, build the community." I tell him

"Think that would be something you would enjoy?"

"I think it could be so...I said yes, it'll be an attempt to keep my mind occupied while you're out there." I tell him and he kissed me

"What about Merle?"

"She offered him to help Abraham and some others build up more walls around this place. Merle accepted." I said to him and he looked at me in shock then kissed me.

"Let's get some sleep." He says and we went over to our bed and crawled in.

* * *

"Take your pick." Carol told us the next day holding a bag of hand guns up

"Look, I've been thinking. Do we really need these?" Daryl asked Rick, "I mean, things go bad, yeah, sure. We do what we gotta do, but it's like you said. We don't need these for that."

"Right now we don't." Carol says

"You wanted me to try, right?" He asked, "I'm good."

Carol looked at me, "I'm with him on this. Do I feel safer with my gun? Yes, but we have to try" I added and Rick looked at me then turned to Carol and grabbed one.

* * *

The next day I laid with Daryl in bed as he held me, it was his first day to go out with Aaron and I didn't want to let him go, "Plan on letting me leave?" He asked and I smiled at him

"No, I actually thought about just tying you to the bed so you can't go" I tell him and he shifted us so he was on top of me

"Now that's just a turn on" He growled and kissed me then lifted my leg up and before I could react he pushed into me.

"Oh god" I moaned

* * *

I kissed Daryl goodbye as he sat at the gate on the bike he worked on with Aaron in the car behind him and they drove off. I stood there for a few more minutes then headed to Deanna's place to start work.

Who knows, maybe this will work.


End file.
